Playwright quits theater committee

Miriam Kainy leaves panel after anti-religious remarks cause outcry.

By JONAH MANDEL
Playwright Miriam Kainy resigned on Thursday evening from her position on the Israel Theater Prize committee, following the public storm created the previous day when she expressed her desire that religious men not take part in the committee, which is currently being formed.
In an interview with Ynet, Kainy defended her stance, explaining that secular people were not equally represented in religious establishments. She also noted that “not every man with a beard is a good Jew.”
Kainy’s remarks and attitude were widely rejected within the theatrical establishment, as well as by Culture Minister Limor Livnat, whom Ynet quoted as saying that “an individual with such extreme opinions could not be part of the committee.”
Kainy, the Austrian-born recipient of the 1997 Prime Minister’s Literary Prize, is an accomplished writer of plays for children and adults. She also directed theater at the Santa Monica Playhouse in the past.