A play about the false messiah, Shabtai Zvi, which received poor notices from the critics, was saved from closing by Orthodox Jewish zealots who objected to it on religious grounds and telephoned a bomb threat to the Haifa theater where it was being performed.
The play, “Messiah,” by Martin Sherman, was found to lack artistic merit. Religious elements demanded that the Haifa municipality force the theater to withdraw it because one of the characters recites the lines, “I don’t believe you exist, God” and “Cursed be you, Almighty.”
An extremist Orthodox group called Keshet held up a recent performance after a telephone caller said there were two bombs in the theater. A police search found no bombs. But the issues of religious censorship and religious coercion were raised, giving the play a new lease on life. The theater management said it would continue to run despite the poor reviews and will also be taken on tour.
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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.
