On December 13th, 2023, three members of the Freedom Theatre at Jenin in the West Bank, Palestine, were arrested during a raid on their theatre. Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi, theatre artist and playwright Jamal Abu Joas, and producer Mustafa Sheta were taken into custody by the IDF. Tobasi and Joas have been released, however Mustafa Sheta has been given six months of administrative detention by a military court.
Sheta is a “precautionary detainee” held without charge, and no evidence has been presented against him. Sheta was also given a six month detention in 2015, after which he was no longer allowed to work at the United Nations. He then began his position at the Freedom Theatre in 2017.
The Freedom Theatre is the artistic heir to the Stone Theatre. Created by Israeli Human Rights Activist Arna Mer-Khamis during the first Intifada, The Stone worked with children in the Jenin area to imagine a better life, and develop skills that you and I might take for granted. Chief among them, creativity, problem solving, and a deeper sense of humanity. The Stone was bulldozed by the IDF in 2002, during the second Intifada. The Freedom theatre was erected in its place in 2006, helmed by Mer-Khamis’ son, Juliano.
Juliano was tragically assassinated in 2011, but the legacy of the Mer-Khamis family lives on in the brave work of the Freedom Theatre.
Local 13 publicly affirms solidarity with The Freedom Theatre. We believe our involvement in the arts makes us better people, that theatre has the ability to illuminate solutions and to change lives, and that cultural institutions, like the Freedom Theatre, have the ability to speak louder than bombs by fostering dialogue and healing amid violence and chaos.
It is with the courage of these convictions that we demand:
- The immediate release of Mustafa Sheta
- An end to targeted attacks on cultural sites
- An immediate and permanent ceasefire
- And an end to the occupation
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