By Cindy Mindell

STORRS – An adaptation of The Island, by Athol Fugard, that draws a parallel between  apartheid-era South Africa and Israel today, will be performed at the University of Connecticut next month.

What is significant about this particular production is that it will be staged by a theater troupe from Jenin, in collaboration with Gary English, UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Dramatic Arts in the School of Fine Arts, and founding artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre at the university.

The performances are scheduled on Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat, Sept. 6 and 7 – which essentially precludes many pro-Israel advocates from attending.

The production is publicized on the website of the Tree of Life Educational Fund – a non-profit corporation established by The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme that promotes speakers and programming characterizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as apartheid (tolef.org). There, the play is described as a work that “reflects the experiences of Palestinian political prisoners and the abuses within the Israeli prison system. The play also highlights the parallels between apartheid South Africa and Palestine today. The separation, the denial of basic human and political rights, the discrimination and oppression that is evident in countless aspects of daily life.”

Since 2010, English has been studying how issues in the Middle East are reflected in dramatic productions as the basis for a book with the working title, Theatre and Human Rights: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. In the course of his research, he has served as a consultant to the Freedom Theatre, a theater and cultural center in the Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank, and artistic manager of the group’s acting school.

English began his research through a 2010 faculty development grant for his project, “Theater, Public Discourse and Human Rights – The Middle East,” and subsequently received a grant from UConn’s Human Rights Institute in 2011 for his project, “Theatre and Human Rights: The Arab/Israeli Conflict.” One of the initial results of the research was a UConn course taught jointly by the Department of Dramatic Arts and the Minor program in Human Rights, “Theater, Public Discourse, and Human Rights.”

In both grant applications, English proposed to study “the uses of theater production as public discourse within the occupied territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) of Palestine and the State of Israel, over the past 10 years, or from the so-called 2nd Intifada up till now.”

Although English indicated that he planned to interview members of the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv, there is no indication that he did so. In fact, his focus has been on Palestinian theater groups and, as he wrote, “how public discourse and questions of human rights have been dealt with in Palestinian theatre.”

In the U.S., the Freedom Theatre is supported by Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, based in New York. Locally, it receives support from the Israel/Palestine Peace, Education & Action Group of N.E. Connecticut and the Storrs Friends (Quaker) Meeting.

The Freedom Theatre was founded by Juliano Mer-Khamis, an Israeli actor, director, and political activist of Jewish and Palestinian heritage who was murdered by masked gunmen in front of the theater he founded in Jenin in April 2011. English knew Mer-Khamis and other leaders of the Freedom Theatre through his work as a consultant, and was invited to serve as artistic manager of the theater during a year-long sabbatical in 2012. While English says that he has associations with many theater companies in Israel and the Palestinian territories, he maintains a close working relationship with the Freedom Theatre.

While English describes his academic interest using the terms “the Middle East,” “the Arab-Israeli conflict,” and the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he admits that he has only established a working relationship with the Jenin organization.

When asked about UConn’s support of a play that clearly paints a one-sided portrait of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, Brid Grant, dean of the UConn School of Fine Arts, explains: “A UConn faculty member, Gary English, who is associated with the Jenin Freedom Theatre, sought permission for this group to perform a play – The Island – in the Nafe Katter Theatre here on campus. The School of Fine Arts agreed to host this presentation as a culmination of a senior professor’s creative research, as we would consider doing for any other tenured or tenure track faculty member whose work culminated in public presentation whether in a recital, gallery, or performance, regardless of the work’s origin, content, or political messages. This is central to academic freedom in research and creative activity.”

Grant says that the School of Fine Arts would consider hosting creative presentations across the political spectrum under the banner of free speech, as well as artistic and academic freedom, if these presentations were born out of the research and creative activity of UConn faculty or in the service of the university’s educational goals for its students.

As to the question of the funding, Grant sees a distinction between funding a professor’s research and funding what may be considered the product of that research.

“While I’m sure that university offices have provided financial support for Prof. English’s research and scholarly activity as a faculty member, neither the university nor the School of Fine Arts are sponsoring this visit or the production,” Grant says. “The School of Fine Arts is providing space for it to be performed – the Katter Theatre – and will operate the box office. But again, the School would take the same approach with any other faculty member who wished to stage a production, irrespective of its content.”

Grant says that allowing a play to be staged on campus does not imply an endorsement of the play or its content on the part of the university or the school.

“We do endorse, however, the use of art to reveal the common humanity in difficult issues and we endorse the aspiration of art to open up a humane dialogue between those of differing views,” he says. “It is our hope that any controversial presentation in the academy is framed with thoughtful discussion, respectful argument, and a step toward the better understanding of each other. We would neither accept nor reject a request to stage a play on campus based on its content, political messages it may contain, or the beliefs of those staging it.”

At present, English has not publicized plans to offer a counterpoint to the Palestinian production, either as part of the September performance or in a future program.

English did not respond to the Ledger’s request for input on this article in time for publication.

For Gary Wolff, executive director of UConn Hillel, the play’s purported message doesn’t sit well. “It makes no sense to me that a faculty member who’s really good in theater arts makes such a stretch between apartheid South Africa and what’s going on in Israel,” he says. “It strikes me as an anger play and a misuse of theater arts.”

But Wolff takes the long view when addressing Israel advocacy on campus. “The natural instinct is to send out the fire department, but we’re not at that point,” he says. “Hillel supports dialog and communication among various student groups, and works to build up resources to expand our reach on campus. We have a very proactive Jewish community on campus and we are training students to deal with anti-Israel activity over the long term.”

There are several Israel-related groups at UConn, each with a different concentration, Wolff says: Huskies for Israel is representative of the State of Israel with all religions and cultures, and focuses on Israel education; UPAC [UConn Political Action Committee] works to enhance the political community and relationship between the U.S. and Israel; and Hillel’s Israel arm looks at Israel through a Jewish lens. Hillel is gearing up for peer-to-peer activities, with recruitment for Birthright-Israel trips and Israel-focused discussions and educational programming during the High Holiday season.

Wolff says that the campus visit of the Jenin Freedom Theatre presents Hillel and the Jewish community that supports it with an opportunity to create and strengthen the Jewish presence necessary to ensure that Jewish students feel comfortable and safe on campus.

While UConn is not a particularly pro- or anti-Israel community, the surrounding towns of Storrs and Mansfield have seen an “uptick” in anti-Israel activity, says Bob Fishman, executive director of JFACT (Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut), spearheaded by the Storrs Friends (Quaker) Meeting and the Israel/Palestine Peace, Education and Action Group of N.E. Connecticut.

Last December, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organized on campus in response to Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel’s November 2012 military reaction to a series of Hamas attacks from Gaza. Wolff opened a dialog between Hillel and SJP to better understand the group’s agenda, which does not include activities related to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. “An important thing to us is dialog, and the fact that we’ve had a conversation,” Wolff says. “We don’t agree and that’s OK, but we’re talking.”

Comments? email cindym@jewishledger.com.