Pro-Palestine, UNRWA theatre statement slammed by Jewish leaders, patrons

Jewish leaders and patrons have condemned the cast and crew at the Belvoir St theatre over claims of ‘occupation and genocide’ — promoted in their brochures for the production of Never Closer.

Belvoir St Theatre, in Sydney's Surry Hills.

Cast and crew at one of Australia’s most celebrated theatres are putting anti-Israel statements in their show brochures, with Jewish leaders and patrons condemning the claims of “occupation and genocide” from members of Belvoir St’s latest production, which also called for donations to a maligned United Nations’ aid agency.

The statement – signed by 14 members of the cast and crew of “Never Closer” which runs at the Surry Hills theatre until mid-June – is the latest foray of theatre into the conflict.

It comes after the much-publicised pro-Palestine keffiyeh protest at the Sydney Theatre Company by actors on “The Seagull” in November.

The statement, published in the production's digital brochure, reads: “We feel it is necessary to acknowledge another, horrifying conflict that is taking place right now in the occupied Gaza Strip”.

“Since October 2023, over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed and that number is rising every day. This is genocide. We hold space for their suffering; for their stories. None of us are free until we are all free.

“We join many artists around Australia calling on our government to stand with us against occupation and demand a permanent ceasefire now.”

The production, “set against the backdrop of The Troubles in 1987 Northern Ireland”, portrays Irish and English friends “growing apart”.

The 14 signatories – including director Hannah Goodwin, writer Grace Chapple, and actor Mabel Li, who was part of “The Seagull” protest – said, given the production’s themes of “horror” and “loss”, it felt propelled to issue such a statement about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The statement in full.

The statement, however, makes no mention of October 7 and Hamas’ atrocities, nor those hostages still being held by the terror group, and includes a link to donate to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Embattled UNRWA has long been a source of concern for the Jewish community, who have urged money to flow to different relief agencies operating in Palestine.

In January, the government suspended funding – although later reinstated it – after it was alleged some agency staff had taken part in Hamas’ October 7 attacks while others celebrated the atrocities.

The Israeli government, in February, said it had proof that a Hamas tunnel network had been homed under the agency’s HQ, although UNRWA said it was not – nor could have been – aware of its presence.

Funding was reinstated by Foreign Minister Wong in March after she said the government had been reassured that UNRWA was “not a terrorist organisation” and that its “safeguards sufficiently protect taxpayer funding”.

NSW Governor Margaret Beazley is the company's patron. Picture: Gaye Gerard

The co-chief executive of the country’s peak Jewish body, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, called the statement an act of “self-indulgence” and “misplaced solidarity founded in disinformation”.

“Every conflict is different – Ireland and Israel are not the same,” Alex Ryvchin said.

“In fact, some early Zionist leaders felt a close connection to Irish independence amid a common opposition to British domination.

“By publishing this letter in the program, the theatre has turned on Jewish patrons, making the theatre exclusive to those who share an extreme political agenda.”

Mr Ryvchin said he had spoken to Jewish theatre students across Sydney who had quit their classes having felt “alone and marginalised”.

“(The statement) won’t end the war, nor free hostages, and it won’t bring peace,” he said, saying it only promoted “tensions and hostilities in our cultural spaces”.

Some members of the Jewish community who are subscribers to the theatre intend to cancel those subscriptions, as well as write into the board to air their concerns.

The Australian understands that anger is not solely contained to that community but wider, with one subscriber saying it was “deceptive” of the theatre company to publish the statement and that its placement “alienated” patrons who “held space in their hearts for innocents on both sides”.

Of the Belvoir’s board, at least one of the 10 members is of the Jewish faith.

The theatre receives state and federal funding, the Belvoir company’s patron is NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and artistic director Eamon Flack.

It follows a high-profile onstage pro-Palestine protest at the Sydney Theatre Company in November. Picture: Instagram

Creative industry veteran Peter Ivany AO – chairman of the National Institute of Dramatic Arts Foundation – told The Australian art should never seek to divide.

“As someone with 40 years’ experience in the arts and entertainment industry, and as a longtime supporter and benefactor of Belvoir St Theatre, this development is most disappointing,” the former chairman of the Australian Film Television and Radio School said, calling the statement “entirely inappropriate”.

“Arts institutions are not here to alienate or divide their audiences, but to help us understand each other and promote social cohesion.”

Mr Ivany said that the production should “stand on its own merits” and audience members “could draw their own conclusions”.

“We live in a democracy, there are many opportunities for people to express their opinion,” he said.

“Arts institutions are for everybody, and should not be used as hotbeds for political activism.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dr Dvir Abramovich called the statement a “new low” for Australian theatre.

“At a time of skyrocketing anti-Semitism, history will remember those that walked away when the Jewish community needed them most,” he said, asking why there was no mention of the victims of October 7 or Israeli hostages.

“Maybe if more Israelis had been killed by Hamas, these individuals would find it in their heart to acknowledge that Jewish lives also matter.”

Dr Abramovich questioned the choice of UNRWA for donations, given its ties to Hamas terrorists, warning against “rewarding” the agency.

Attempts to contact the theatre company were unsuccessful.