A number of persons were slightly injured here today when police cleared the Habimah theatre of more than 100 persons who had invaded it in an effort to force the Habimah management to permit the use of the theatre by the Israel Opera Company.
The manager of the opera, Even Zohar, who headed the group, was arrested by the police on charges of breaking into the theatre illegally and of resisting police officers who asked him to vacate the hall.
Today’s clash is the latest in an increasingly bitter dispute between the actors’ group and the opera company, both of which have been using the Habimah’s premises. After a long series of clashes and disputes the Habimah demanded earlier this year that the opera company find new premises, the latter said it was impossible. An agreement was reached through the mediation efforts of Justice Minister Pinhas Rosen and the opera company agreed to leave within six months.
When that period ended several weeks ago without the opera company finding a new hall, the Habimah management padlocked the theatre to keep the opera company out. This tactic failed last week when the opera company broke into the hall and presented Grieg’s “Song of Norway.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
