Protest by the Israeli Cultural and Art Institutions Forum representing hundreds of organizations launched across the country • "The protest is an expression of frustration and rage, from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona"

• Museum workers' protest

  Photo: 

  Rafi Deluya

• Demonstrating the world of culture

  Photo: 

  Courtesy of the Forum of Cultural and Art Institutions in Israel

• Demonstrating the world of culture

  Photo: 

  Courtesy of the Forum of Cultural and Art Institutions in Israel

• Demonstrating the world of culture

  Photo: 

  Courtesy of the Forum of Cultural and Art Institutions in Israel

• Demonstrating the cultural world at the Tower of David Museum

  Photo: 

  Courtesy of the Forum of Cultural and Art Institutions in Israel

• Demonstrating the Cultural World at Beit Lessin

  Photo: 

  Kfir Bolotin

Jump to an empty stage: The lack of a neat outline of bringing the cultural world back to action and the screen that went down and paralyzed an entire industry of more than 150,000 led to a huge protest today led by the Israel Culture and Arts Forum, which represents hundreds of institutions and organizations.

As of 12:00, there was a protest throughout the country of unemployed people from all areas of culture, including theater, dance, music, museums, acting schools, festivals, cinemas and more. As part of the protest, the employees of the institutions arrived and stood on the stage of the theater, studio spaces, rehearsal spaces and museums, wearing black, holding signs with the caption "This museum / screen / stage must not be left empty", respectively.

• Artists' Fury: "The Minister of Culture Raises False Hopes"

The purpose of the protest is first and foremost to raise the public agenda for the lack of an operational and economic outline that will prevent the bankruptcy of cultural institutions that have been closed for two months (and are expected to remain closed until mid-June), with a loss of revenue of about NIS 400 million. The Institutions Forum proposed a simple and applicable outline on its behalf a few weeks ago, which has so far remained unanswered and has not received in-depth discussion of the issue.

Michal Yanai, a Haifa theater actress, said, "The fact that on one hand they open the theaters and on the other hand they do not let the crowd - how can it work together? And they also want to fill a third, however - and who should subsidize the remaining two-thirds? .

Dane Files, a housekeeper for China, said: "I am aware of the difficulties and the mess, I am sure the audience will be hard to reach, but to put on a show with 400 people in a hall of 1,000 needs support. And also help players - not those who earn big salaries, but those who are their jobs And trying to survive. All at once everything is closed. Nothing. The heart is broken. " 

Sasson Gabay, who returned from a tour in the US with the orchestra's visit: "I am pleased to hear that there is a desire to restore the activity of the cultural institutions, but not enough that there is a good will. You also need to act and talk to us, the cultural and professional people. The situation is fragile. Need to understand - How to rehearse? How do I put on a third show? The theater leans on self-revenue and if the hall is not full it is a loss. "

Gabay shared what was happening overseas: "It's very sad to see Broadway. New York is empty and paralyzed. I was in the middle of touring, a whole year in the US with the orchestra's visit. The tour was interrupted. I waited a few weeks in New York. I saw that things were not moving so we came back here. We are in contact but as here no one knows there too there is uncertainty. Return dates as time varies. "

Oz Zahavi, the Cameri actor: "The feeling is that there is no one to sit down and talk to. There are programs offered by artists to the Ministry of Culture and not given proper attention. In addition, too much budget should be made to compensate the theaters and all the affected industry, the outline currently offered is not good enough and certainly not economic. "No theater will open like that, it's like saying we brought the culture back."

Dani Weiss, CEO of Meditech and chairman of the Cultural Institutions Forum in Israel said: "After three months without income, cultural institutions expect to jump to an empty pool. There is still no track to explain how the institutions will avoid economic collapse in the long months in which the institutions will work at a loss and try to bring players back to work. "So far, a lot of statements and zero acts have been given. Obviously, another fact can be done - in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Austria, models for operational and budgetary behavior can already be implemented in Israel."

Weiss concluded with a clear and clear message: "If there is no progress in the coming days to understand how to open the cultural institutions responsibly and where the funding will come from, we will not be able to open in mid-May or mid-June."

"The fact that on one hand opens the theaters and on the other does not let the crowds - how can it work together? Plus they want to fill a third, however - and who should subsidize the remaining two-thirds?"

Among the institutions participating in the huge protest are Beit Lessin Theater, Islamic Art Museum, IB, Habima Theater, Cameri Theater, Beersheba Theater, Haifa Theater, Tel Aviv Museum, Eretz Israel, Medatech Haifa, Janco Dada Museum, Dance Company The Kibbutz, the Choreographers Association, the Bat Sheva Band, the Tmuna Theater, the Tzavta, the Kettle Theater, the Shalem Dance Center, the Israeli Be'er Sheva Sinfonietta, the Israeli Opera, the Rash Orchestra, the Khan Theater, the Susan Dellal Center, the Alley Theater, the Felicja Blumaton Center , Haifa Museums, The Israeli Flamenco Band, Home Theater, Tzavta Theater, The Natural History Museum Steinhardt, Meditech Holon, Design Museum, Israeli Museum of Cartoon and Comics, Stage Workshops, Talisman, Bat Dor Be'er Sheva, Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem Cinematheque, Rag Theater Group, Alley Theater, Studio Nissan Netiv, Symphonet Raanen The Stage, Adama Sderot Movement Center, Ein Harod Art Center, Touching Moving Center, Castel Museum, Eshkol Community Center, Beit Zvi Game School, Rimon Music School, Beit Hatfutsot, Beit Hatfutsot, Goodman School For the Game, Nahariya Cultural Hall, TA Culture Hall, Hadera Culture Hall, Body Tools for Choreographic Work, Inbal Band, Kolban Dance Band, Amulet Band, Museum Real Bloomfield Science Museum, the Old Yishuv Court Museum, Ein Dor, Fringe Theater Beersheba, Jerusalem Theater, Gesher Theater, EMI - Israeli Artists Association, the Israel Ballet and many more.

Shmulik will blossom CEO of Beer Sheva Theater and the Goodman Game School he founded 16 years ago in Be'er Sheva: "The protest is an expression of the frustration and rage of the cultural world from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona. Workers, actors, creators and entire families crash daily in front of our eyes without A chip of hope and horizon for a return to the workforce. The Corona could bring Beersheba and the Negev back for years, cutting off all the great cultural work done in the last decade. "

Shaham's Response: "There are no clear instructions for returning to normal and no financial outline or signed order. If the outline proposed by the minister is approved without an aid package, there will be dozens of layoffs. "

The protest was attended by Ido Mori, Efrat Ben Tzur, Dor Michaeli, Svetlana Demidov and other bridge players.