Rabbis against the Theater

July 16 2024

If ancient rabbis and church leaders agreed about one thing, it was that the pious should not attend the theater—the most popular of entertainments in the Roman-ruled Mediterranean. The fact that both groups of clergymen devoted so much attention to this problem, argues Courtney Friesen in a new book, suggests that many of their congregants did indeed patronize the theater. Menachem Wecker writes:

Friesen notes that a Jewish dramatist named Ezekiel who lived in Alexandria, perhaps 100 years before the Common Era, created a tragedy about the Exodus story. “We can’t be certain whether it was intended for actual performance, and if so in what venue,” Friesen said.

Ezekiel’s Exodus play—modeled particularly on Euripides—is both by a Jewish author and the “most complete Greek tragedy to survive from any Hellenistic playwright,” beyond the 5th century BCE, he noted.

One of the scholar’s arguments in the book is that even as rabbis and church leaders scolded their flocks for going to the theater, Jewish and Christian practices were shaped by the theater. For example, synagogue and church layouts mirrored designs of Greek theaters, with the “audience” or worshippers surrounding the central “stage” where clergy delivered sermonic “performances.”

Josephus, the Jewish military leader and historian who lived from 37 or 38 to the year 100, recorded that Jerusalem Jews “opposed the theater complex under Herod because of the religious images that surrounded it, among other things,” Friesen told JNS.

Read more at JNS

More about: ancient Judaism, Christianity, Theater

The Next Diplomatic Steps for Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab States

July 11 2025

Considering the current state of Israel-Arab relations, Ghaith al-Omari writes

First and foremost, no ceasefire will be possible without the release of Israeli hostages and commitments to disarm Hamas and remove it from power. The final say on these matters rests with Hamas commanders on the ground in Gaza, who have been largely impervious to foreign pressure so far. At minimum, however, the United States should insist that Qatari and Egyptian mediators push Hamas’s external leadership to accept these conditions publicly, which could increase pressure on the group’s Gaza leadership.

Washington should also demand a clear, public position from key Arab states regarding disarmament. The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas endorsed this position in a June letter to Saudi Arabia and France, giving Arab states Palestinian cover for endorsing it themselves.

Some Arab states have already indicated a willingness to play a significant role, but they will have little incentive to commit resources and personnel to Gaza unless Israel (1) provides guarantees that it will not occupy the Strip indefinitely, and (2) removes its veto on a PA role in Gaza’s future, even if only symbolic at first. Arab officials are also seeking assurances that any role they play in Gaza will be in the context of a wider effort to reach a two-state solution.

On the other hand, Washington must remain mindful that current conditions between Israel and the Palestinians are not remotely conducive to . . . implementing a two-state solution.

Read more at Washington Institute for Near East Policy

More about: Gaza War 2023, Israel diplomacy, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict