ITFoK | Israeli director’s work highlights Palestinians’ plight at theatre fest

ITFoK | Israeli director’s work highlights Palestinians’ plight at theatre fest

Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist, lives with a dual identity. The United Nations calls Issa, who has been leading a non-violent movement of civil disobedience for years, a defender of human rights. But Israel has labelled him a terrorist.

How To Make A Revolution is a documentary theatre, which is a long conversation between Issa Amro and Israeli theatre director Einat Weizman. Issa’s role is played by another actor while Ms. Weizman enacts herself.

Born in the Palestinian city of Hebron, Issa has lost count of the number of times the Israeli army has harassed and arrested him for protesting against human rights violations in occupied Palestine. In the play, Ms. Weizman presents the transcripts of Issa’s trial at the notorious military court, where judges and prosecutors blatantly stand on the side of the occupying state. “The conviction rate of the Palestinians in the military court is 99.7%. There are no juries in Israel’s military courts. Sentences have been passed before the trials begin and the prisoner knows his fate even before his name is called.”

Ms. Weizman says a sort of ‘Israeli Apartheid’ has been slapped on Palestine people. There is a different judicial system for Israelis and Palestinians. While Palestinian people are sent to military courts, Israelis have another civilian court system. “When I first visited Hebron, the street was empty. Only religious Jews were at the street, which was a market place, in the heart of the city. Now the Palestinians are not allowed in the street. They have separate streets,” she says.

“However, more than the Israeli oppression, what was more painful for Issa was the Palestinian authorities co-operating with Israel. The Oslo Agreement was a surrender by Palestinians. Part of the agreement was a sort of military collaboration between Palestine and Israel. Sometimes the Palestinian authorities work for the Israeli Army,“ says Ms. Weizman.

Visibly emotional at the overwhelming response of audience at the ITFoK, Ms. Weizman said: “Being accepted is very important for us. Our team could not even believe that someone could applaud us as we have been encountering so many hurdles. We cannot speak at home.“

Last time I spoke on social media was on October 7, 2023, the day of Hamas attack on Israel, she says. “I was uploading content on the events preceding the Hamas attack. October 7 did not happen without any context. It happened after a very long period of Israel violence. This play was made before the current Gaza war.”