The mother of Moshiko Doyno, who fought and died in Operation Protective Edge, also called Tzuk Eitan, in the twelfth year, operates a small, intimate eatery, Habotke Shel Moshiko, in the Katamonim neighborhood. Moshiko's bodega, located at 26 Antigonus St., offers a Botke wrap filled with goat cheese, antipasto, and pesto, keeping standard business hours and operating as kosher. This commercial venture by Rohama Doyno follows the death of her son in the 2014 military operation, highlighting the direct human cost of state-sanctioned violence and the economic precarity faced by those left behind.
The Cost of State Violence
The Rashuta Gallery, located at 33 Aharon Rabinovich St., features a bomb shelter on its premises, a stark material reality underlying the cultural offerings in Jerusalem. The gallery, which is part of the Rashot HaRabim network, states its goal is to foster tolerance in the capital. Admission to the new exhibition, Absence, by Ilana Hoffmann, curated by Jenny Aharon, is free, with visitors advised to call 050-728-4234 to confirm opening hours. The exhibition, described as an attempt to solidify what is missing, is on display until Friday, May 1. The presence of a bomb shelter alongside efforts to foster tolerance underscores the limitations of cultural initiatives in the face of ongoing conflict and the state's role in maintaining conditions that necessitate such shelters.
Dan Vered, a San Francisco native who made aliyah in the 1980s to enlist in the IDF, operates Fishenzon Bar at 12 Shamai St. The bar, described as a venue that always opens in the afternoon and promises to be a safe spot, offers Crabbie’s Original Ginger Beer, British gluten-free beer, and strong 6% Herzl beer. The owner's background directly links this commercial establishment to the state's military apparatus, demonstrating how individual economic pursuits can be intertwined with the structures of state power.
Culture as Commodity
Cultural engagement in Jerusalem often comes with a price tag, even for projects framed as community-oriented. Bitul Torah, a tongue-in-cheek party game focused on the humor of observant English-speaking Jews living in Israel, is offered for NIS 86 per deck. This "nonprofit community project" includes 180 black prompt cards and 440 white response cards, with patrons able to submit their own pitches, and pledges accepted at bitultorah.com. A Hebrew version of the game is also available. Similarly, From Darkness to Light, an English-language performance by Gabriella Lev about her mother’s Holocaust survival, is priced at NIS 90. The one-hour show, scheduled for 7:50 p.m. at Beit Mazia, 18 Mesilat Yesharim St., invites patrons to stay and discuss the production with its creator, with bookings available by calling (02) 624-4586. These examples illustrate the commodification of cultural expression and historical memory, where access is determined by the ability to pay.
Managing Narratives
The Mikro Theater, described as a fringe group that generally works from the Jerusalem Theatre, adapted The Jewish War by Josephus for the stage. This 2019 Hebrew production, directed by Irina Gorelik, begins with the sacking of the Temple by the Roman Empire and ends with the last Sicarii perishing, available for viewing via a YouTube link. While presenting historical narratives of imperial conquest and resistance, the framing as a "fringe group" may indicate its position outside mainstream state cultural funding, yet it still operates within the established cultural apparatus.
An online English-language discussion, presented by the Leo Baeck Institute, addresses how to remember the Holocaust in the age of the artificial image. Berit Zimmerling is scheduled to discuss “virtual witnessing” with moderator Daniel Mahla, focusing on generating speaking holograms of Holocaust survivors to communicate with future generations. This technological approach to historical memory, scheduled for 6 p.m. as a free event with registration via shorturl.at/5Q3y3, risks depoliticizing the material conditions that lead to such atrocities. The discussion also references an article by Jewish American author Dara Horn in The Atlantic, titled “Is Holocaust Education Making Antisemitism Worse?”, which represents a liberal self-critique that questions the efficacy of education without challenging the underlying structural causes of conflict and oppression. The Shmooze podcast episode 115, featuring Eleanor Reissa, born to a Yiddish-speaking family of Holocaust survivors, speaking with the Yiddish Book Center’s Lisa Newman, director of public programs, promotes Yiddish culture, with access provided through yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/the-shmooze.