MORE than 100 Scottish theatre writers have signed an open letter condemning recent attacks on a Palestinian theatre by the Israeli military.
The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, in the West Bank, was attacked by Israeli forces, with several members of the theatre company taken hostage by the military.
The theatre’s artistic director Ahmed Tobasi has since been released, having reportedly sustained multiple injuries through beatings while detained.
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His colleagues Mustafa Sheta, a producer, and Jamal Abu Joas, a youth trainer, are still detained, their whereabouts unknown.
Glasgow-based playwright Kieran Hurley (below) said: “This egregious assault on theatre artists is an attack on us all, and Scotland's playwrights will not stand for it."
The Freedom Theatre has strong connections to Scotland, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe and at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre as recently as 2017.
Hurley, alongside other Scottish playwrights including Rona Munro, May Sumbwanyambe, Liz Lochhead, Gregory Burke, signed an open letter calling for elected representatives to demand a ceasefire and the return of hostages, alongside the targeting of journalists, artists and writers in Palestine.
The open letter reads: “As members of the Scottish playwriting community, we are horrified by the news that The Freedom Theatre of Jenin's Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi, Producer Mustafa Sheta, and youth trainer Jamal Abu Joas were recently taken hostage by the Israeli military.
“Ahmed Tobasi has since been released, having sustained injuries through beatings. His colleagues, along with approximately 100 other Palestinians taken hostage in Jenin in the last 24 hours, remain detained.
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“The Freedom Theatre performed in Glasgow, at the Tron Theatre, with their show The Siege as recently as 2015. Ahmed Tobasi performed the show And Here I Am at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 at the New Town Theatre and contributed to the multi-artist celebration of Arab work Chill Habibi at Summerhall that same year.
“The Freedom Theatre are valued members of our international community. The targeting of their theatre and their violent detainment at the hands of the Israeli military is an affront to us all.
“We join with our artistic colleagues in Scotland and across the globe in vociferously opposing these attacks on artists and their freedoms.
“We call on our elected representatives to demand the immediate release of our colleagues, and an end to the military occupation and its targeting of artists, journalists and writers in Palestine."
Speaking to The National, playwright Eliza Gearty condemned the attack on the Freedom Theatre, adding that it is "the latest in a long line of atrocities that have been carried out in the last two months, and for much longer."
She added: "Israel is held up by our politicians as a bastion of democracy in the Middle East and yet we're seeing the reality of a regime hellbent on destroying an entire population, including their cultural and creative legacies.
"Oppressive states have long used the tactic of silencing and suppressing creative voices in order to exert total control; what we are seeing happen in Palestine is no different.
"As writers, we have a responsibility to stand up for our international colleagues and to call out the hypocrisy of our political leaders.
"I signed the open letter in the hope that it will contribute to a mounting international pressure to release Mustafa Shefta and Jamal Abu, and to demand an end to the military occupation in Gaza. "
Playwright Sara Sharaawi condemned the “deliberate targeting of cultural institutions and artists” by the Israeli military.
She added: “As theatre artists we cannot stand by and let this happen to our colleagues, the devastation and destruction of Palestinian life and heritage we have witnessed so far has already been an immense loss to the world.”
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