Despite the presence of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupting Israel's Habima theater company’s performance in London on Monday, the actors maintained their performance.
The Hebrew-language performance was part of the Globe Theatre’s Cultural Shakespeare festival. Calls for the Globe to cancel the show didn’t deter the public and it went ahead with a sell-out performance.
But in the middle of the performance of The Merchant of Venice, some 10 pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the audience suddenly began waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for an end to the "Israeli Apartheid regime" as well as for a boycott of Israeli products.
The actors carried on with the show.
Security personnel removed the protesters from the theater. Later on, another group stood up with band-aids plastered to their mouths.
At the same time, pro-Israel supporters demonstrated outside the theater waving Israeli flags with signs that read: “Culture unites, Boycotts divide.”
They also expressed their support for the Israeli actors.
“You're not watching politicians or policymakers. You are watching artists who are here to tell a story,” said Dominic Dromgoole, Globe Theatre artistic director.
Founded in Moscow in 1913, the Habima theater settled in Tel Aviv in the late 1920s. Since 1958, it has been recognised as the National Theatre of Israel.

EJP