Jerusalem’s April 10 to April 16 cultural listings mix free gallery access, Holocaust memory, and a stage work that begins with the sacking of the Temple by the Roman Empire and ends with the last Sicarii perishing. The column’s calendar of events shows how institutions package history, grief, and identity into scheduled consumption, while the people at the bottom are invited to book, pledge, register, and show up on cue. **Who Gets to Frame the Story** On Saturday, April 11, the column pointed readers to The Jewish War by Josephus, a production that begins with the sacking of the Temple by the Roman Empire and ends with the last Sicarii perishing. The piece said the work was adapted to the stage by the Mikro Theater, described as a fringe group that generally works from the Jerusalem Theatre. It said the production is directed by Irina Gorelik, is a 2019 production, and is in Hebrew. The article gave a YouTube link for viewing. Even here, the machinery of culture is visible: a historical catastrophe turned into a staged product, filtered through a theater apparatus and delivered as content. On Sunday, April 12, the column highlighted the Rashuta Gallery, where visitors could explore the works of Ilana Hoffmann in her new exhibition, Absence. The exhibition was curated by Jenny Aharon and was described as an attempt to solidify what is missing. The gallery is at 33 Aharon Rabinovich St. It has a bomb shelter, admission is free, and visitors were told to call ahead to confirm that the gallery would be open during their planned visit at 050-728-4234. The exhibition was on display until Friday, May 1. The gallery is part of the Rashot HaRabim network, whose goal is to foster tolerance in the capital. **What People Are Offered** The free admission at Rashuta Gallery is one of the few details in the column that does not come wrapped in a price tag, though even that comes with a phone number and the instruction to confirm the gallery is actually open. The gallery’s bomb shelter is part of the setting, a reminder that ordinary life in the city is organized around the possibility of emergency while cultural institutions keep their doors half-managed and conditional. On Monday, April 13, the column listed From Darkness to Light, an English-language performance by Gabriella Lev about how her mother survived the Holocaust. The performance was scheduled for 7:50 p.m. at Beit Mazia, 18 Mesilat Yesharim St. The price was listed as NIS 90. After the one-hour show, patrons were invited to stay and discuss the production with its creator. To book, readers were told to call (02) 624-4586. The event turns survival into a ticketed evening, with discussion available afterward for those who can pay and reserve a seat. The column also noted a Friday pre-order offer for Bitul Torah, a tongue-in-cheek party game focused on the humor of observant English-speaking Jews living in Israel. The nonprofit community project includes 180 black prompt cards and 440 white response cards, and patrons can submit their own pitches. The game costs NIS 86 per deck, a Hebrew version is also offered, and pledges can be made at bitultorah.com. The language of community project and nonprofit does not erase the fact that the product is still sold deck by deck, with patrons invited to contribute ideas into the pipeline. **Memory, Mediation, and the Helpers** On Tuesday, April 14, the column pointed readers to The Shmooze podcast episode 115, in which Eleanor Reissa, who was born to a Yiddish-speaking family of Holocaust survivors, spoke with the Yiddish Book Center’s Lisa Newman, director of public programs. The article said Reissa fell in love with the stage after watching a performance of a play by Fernando Arrabal and that she is devoted to promoting Yiddish culture. Readers were directed to yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/the-shmooze. On Thursday, April 16, the column promoted an online English-language discussion about how to remember the Holocaust in the age of the artificial image, presented thanks to the Leo Baeck Institute. Berit Zimmerling was to discuss “virtual witnessing” with moderator Daniel Mahla. The discussion would focus on the attempt to generate speaking holograms of Holocaust survivors who could communicate with future generations even after the original survivors are no longer living. The article also said readers who wanted perspectives on the phenomenon might enjoy an article by Jewish American author Dara Horn in The Atlantic, titled “Is Holocaust Education Making Antisemitism Worse?” The event was scheduled for 6 p.m., was in English, was free, and registration was available via shorturl.at/5Q3y3. The institutional layer keeps showing up: the Yiddish Book Center, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the nonprofit community project behind Bitul Torah all present themselves as cultural stewards, while the actual delivery is mediated through podcasts, registrations, pledges, and curated discussion. The column does not describe any grassroots organizing outside these channels; what it does show is a steady stream of managed access to memory, identity, and performance. **The City as a Managed Stage** On Wednesday, April 15, the column recommended Fishenzon Bar, described as a venue that always opens in the afternoon and promises to be a safe spot for anyone who needs one. Behind the beer tap was San Francisco native Dan Vered, who made aliyah in the 1980s to enlist in the IDF and built an inspiring life in Israel. The bar also offered Crabbie’s Original Ginger Beer, British gluten-free beer, and strong 6% Herzl beer. The address given was 12 Shamai St., and readers were reminded to drink responsibly. Also on Wednesday, the column highlighted Habotke Shel Moshiko, described as Moshiko’s bodega, where visitors could enjoy the Botke wrap filled with goat cheese, antipasto, and pesto. The article said Moshiko Doyno grew up in the Katamonim neighborhood and fought and died in Operation Protective Edge, also called Tzuk Eitan, in 2014. The small, intimate eatery is operated by his mother, Rohama, and is at 26 Antigonus St. It is kosher and keeps standard business hours. Taken together, the week’s listings show a city where culture is routed through institutions, venues, and paid access, with memory and identity packaged for consumption. The column’s own details point to the hierarchy underneath the polish: theaters, galleries, institutes, nonprofits, and bars all managing what people can see, hear, buy, and remember.
