Jaffa Theatre Production Promotes Anti-IDF Message With Public Funds
Photo: Dror Avi, Wikipedia
A play set to open at Jaffa Theatre turns Meir Brochin, who was investigated and suspended after a series of inflammatory remarks during the war, into a hero fighting for freedom of speech. The production is funded in part by the Mifal Hapayis Council for Culture and Arts, meaning public money, and for many it is not an innocent work of art but a platform for an inciting narrative against the State of Israel, IDF soldiers, and the war effort, especially after the October 7 massacre.
We reported this evening (Wednesday) on News 14 that in July the play “A Lesson in Civics” will open at Jaffa Theatre, based on the story of Dr. Meir Brochin, a civics and history teacher who was at the center of a fierce public controversy after the October 7 terror attack. The theatre’s website presents the play as the story of a teacher fighting for freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and democracy. Brochin is described as someone who paid a personal and professional price for his views and as someone fighting for students’ right to form an independent opinion.
+ Jaffa Theatre | Photo: Dror Avi, Wikipedia
However, the reason Brochin became a familiar figure to the Israeli public was not his civics lessons, but a series of posts and statements that sparked widespread public outrage during the war. Those posts led to an investigation, an arrest, disciplinary proceedings, and his dismissal from the education system, which was later canceled following a legal battle. The entire affair unfolded while IDF soldiers were fighting in Gaza and on other fronts, and many families were paying a heavy price in the war. Precisely during that period, Brochin became, in many people’s eyes, a symbol of harsh criticism of the State of Israel and of IDF actions.
Now the creators of the play are choosing to present his story through the prism of a struggle for freedom of expression. But the public question is not only what is shown on stage, but who is funding the play. The production of “A Lesson in Civics” is supported by the Mifal Hapayis Council for Culture and Arts. This means that public funds are helping finance a work devoted to a controversial figure whose attributed remarks provoked fierce public protest during wartime.
+ Is the money going to incitement? Mifal Hapayis booth | Photo: Chaim Goldberg, Flash90
This raises a broader question: should every work be eligible for public funding simply because it is defined as art? Don’t public institutions have a responsibility to the public that funds them? And should the citizens of Israel, including soldiers, reservists, and bereaved families, be expected to pay out of pocket for a play that portrays favorably a person many of them see as a symbol of the campaign of accusations against Israel and the IDF during the war?
No one is preventing the creators of the play from staging the production or expressing a political view. Freedom of expression also applies to opinions that are outrageous and infuriating. However, freedom of expression does not require public funding. That is exactly the point at the heart of the storm.
In the end, the debate over “A Lesson in Civics” is not only about Meir Brochin. It is about who decides which messages and values will receive support from public money, and where the line lies between supporting culture and using taxpayers’ money to promote a controversial political narrative during wartime. Incitement News 14 Mifal Hapayis IDF Jaffa Theatre
