West Bank theatre

The last time I saw Zubadi, he was heavily armed and hiding. Times have changed. Last summer Zubadi accepted an Israeli amnesty deal for Fatah members for a return to a pledge to not attack Israel. As head of the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade in Jenin, Zubadi ordered numerous shooting attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers, even though he never ordered suicide bombers. He also witnessed deaths of his sister, mother, and most of his deputies. During the day Zubadi has been writing short sketches for this theatre, which is run by a man born to a Jewish-Israeli mother and a Christian-Arab father. It puts on short plays and runs workshops for local children in the camp. The man who runs the theatre considers Zubadi’s move to write courageous and a good example for children. This show features five teenage actors and a background meant to look like the camp’s streets. This first skit mocks the failures of parents to take responsibility for the actions of their children, then a sketch about domestic abuse. There’s no mention of Israel in the sketches. One of Zubadi’s jobs here is to keep politics out of theatre. This isn’t Zubadi’s first involvement with children’s theatre; he first acted when he was 12. outside the theatre, some don’t think much of Zubadi’s decision to surrender his weapon. That seems to be a minority view here though.