How is Hamlet received or avoided in Israel?

How is Shakespeare’s Hamlet produced/received/avoided in Israel? [1]

"Being European: 'Hamlet' on the Israeli Stage" (Reut Barzilai 2020) [2] notes: Israeli productions often avoid connections between the play's themes and Israel/Palestine.

Consider these themes:

LONGSTANDING THREATS OF FOREIGN ATTACK,
QUESTIONS OF LAND CLAIM LEGITIMACY:

Norway and Denmark fought;
Old Fortinbras was killed, Norway defeated;
Denmark won land;
Young Fortinbras wants lands back that Denmark had taken.

Norway can be an analogue for Palestine; Denmark, for Israel.
In the end, all Danish royalty kill one other;
a dying Hamlet wants Fortinbras to take Denmark's throne.
Israel wants to avoid such a fate.

REVENGE / RETALIATION:
The ghost of Hamlet’s father bids his son to avenge. This causes many deaths.

In Israel:
Palestinian deaths / injuries by far outnumber those of Israel since the 10/07/23 Hamas attacks and Israeli retaliation [3] (also true of past conflicts [4]):

Israeli deaths 1,200 / injuries: 5,431
Palestinian deaths 35,091 / injuries 78,827

Readers/audiences of Hamlet express concern at so many deaths in play, including innocent bystanders (Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern).

Hamlet and an officer speak of 2,000 to die over a (possibly/apparently?) worthless piece of land.

SOMETHING ROTTEN IN THE STATE
Netanyahu's critics question his legitimacy and effectiveness.

SUICIDES
Hamlet considers suicide; some think Ophelia a suicide, and possibly Gertrude.

There have been many reported suicides of IDF members witnessing atrocities committed by IDF in Gaza.

MASS PROTESTS
With Laertes returned from France after his father's death, a crowd wants to declare him king.

Israel has seen mass protests and a general strike by Israelis upset by Netanyahu’s resistance to hostage negotiations, failing to prevent recent hostage deaths.

There are many possible connections: Perhaps it is obvious why some in Israel might prefer to avoid the play if these are emphasized?


NOTES:
[1] In a post this week about views from various nations in August (last month) of this year (2024), Dr. Atar J. Hadari noticed that Israel was not listed among the top 22 views to this blog. This prompted me to do a quick web search to find sources on Hamlet in Israel.

One source that turned up was a 2020 journal piece, "Being European: 'Hamlet' on the Israeli Stage," by Reut Barzilai of the University of Haifa, Israel.

Another involved a workshop last month in Israel, related to Hamlet:
https://theaterintherough.co.il/event/shakespeare-intensive-hamlet/

[2]  “Being European: ‘Hamlet’ on the Israeli Stage” (2020) Reut Barzilai University of Haifa, Israel:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-8530.21.03
Abstract: [...] a peculiar case of an avoidance of local appropriation. For almost 60 years, repertory Israeli theaters mostly refused to let Hamlet reflect the “age and body of the time”. They repeatedly invited Europeans to direct Hamlet in Israel and offered local audiences locally-irrelevant productions [...] even though local productions [...] in Israel tend to be more financially successful than those directed by non-Israelis, and even when local national and political circumstances bore a striking resemblance to the plot of the play. Conversely, when one Israeli production of Hamlet [...] did try to hold a mirror up to Israeli society—and was indeed understood abroad as doing so—Israeli audiences and theatre critics failed to recognize their reflection in this mirror. The article explores [...] functions that Hamlet has served for the Israeli theatre [...] —a mirror reflecting Israel’s “age and body.” The article also shows how, precisely because Hamlet was not allowed to reflect local concerns, the play mirrors instead the evolution of the Israeli theatre [...]

[3] “Number of Palestinian¹ and Israeli² fatalities and injuries caused by the war between Hamas and Israel since October 7, 2023”
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422308/palestinian-territories-israel-number-fatalities-and-injuries-caused-by-the-israel-and-hamas-war/

[4] From 2008-2023, Palestinian casualties have by far outnumbered Israeli;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict#/media/File:Timeline_of_Israel-Palestine_fatalities_2008-2023.png
Also, since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Palestinian casualties by year have outnumbered Israeli.
In Israeli wars since 1948, Israel as a norm usually causes more deaths to other nations’ forces than Israeli forces suffer.

IMAGES
Left: "Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: [...] dated around 1730."
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/1730_Homann_Map_of_Scandinavia%2C_Norway%2C_Sweden%2C_Denmark%2C_Finland_and_the_Baltics_-_Geographicus_-_Scandinavia-homann-1730.jpg

Right (4 images from same source):
"Map of the Week: Unraveling the Borders of Israel and Palestine Through Time,"
Posted on December 18, 2023 by Owen Goss
https://blog.richmond.edu/livesofmaps/files/2023/12/Picture1.jpg
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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