Habima Theater – the national theater of Israel located in Tel Aviv – will be owned by the Tel Aviv Municipality and will operate as a new municipal corporation while maintaining its unique status, the municipality announced on Sunday afternoon.
With the culture world slowly reopening, such a decision reaching its final stages is a relief to those who work and act in the national theater and wish to return to the stage as the country slowly heals from the coronavirus pandemic.
This comes after years of serious conflicts and a massive financial deficit of over NIS 100 million.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai explained that the municipality decided to act and take on this responsibility because “the public responsibility of the Tel Aviv Municipality did not allow [it] to let the national theater close.”
“At the end of a long process and in cooperation with the Tel Aviv municipality, we have managed to maintain the existence of this cultural institution, including its unique status,” said Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper.
“The enormous cultural work of more than a hundred years will continue to develop thanks to the new arrangement.”
The theater announced in October that it will be managed by the municipality in order to save it from total collapse. Now, the ownership has been completely transferred through a cooperative project involving the municipality, as well as the Culture and Sports Ministry, the Histadrut labor federation and the Israeli Actors’ Guild Shaham.
The municipality additionally submitted an application to the Interior Ministry asking to create the necessary municipal corporation that may take responsibility for the theater’s operation.
Once this is approved, the municipality may start applying an outline which it has created – which states the manner in which the theater will work alongside the state, as well as the trustees and employees and how the absorption of workers and actors will take place – within such a municipal corporation.
The decision was made with the knowledge that Tel Aviv is the cultural center of Israel and the preservation of the national theater, located at its heart, is a responsibility.
The new board of directors – that comes along with the transition – will be headed by Ziva Patir, who had been the Israel Standards Institute director-general and now heads numerous boards of directors.
Noam Semel, who was the CEO of the theater, was appointed to the position of head of the transition directorate, continuing as CEO.
“In the name of the Habima family and in the name of millions of views of Habima since 1918 and until today, we thank the Tel Aviv Municipality... for the Zionist decision to adopt Habima and to take a shot for the sake of the national theater of Israel,” Semel said.