Members of the Board of The Freedom Theatre Foundation, Etienne Balibar and Judith Butler, came to visit the theatre this week. They met with the Palestinian Board, the staff and students of the theatre. This was Balibar and Butler’s first visit to Jenin after the murder of Juliano Mer Khamis and they both expressed great appreciation of the fact that the theatre is still going strong despite the terrible incidents that occurred last year.
“It was so very important to learn about the theatre and see all the people there. You have a beautiful group of people learning and working and helping to guide the school and theatre. I was so glad to have come, and I send you my deepest appreciation and admiration.“ Judith Butler
Etienne Balibar is Professor Emeritus of moral and political philosophy at Université de Paris X – Nanterre and Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine. He has published widely in the area of Marxist philosophy and moral and political philosophy in general. Etienne Balibar is a member of the support committee of the Rusell Tribunal on Palestine, an International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East.
Judith Butler, Philosopher, Professor and Author, is one of the most influential gender theorists of our time. She is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian civil society call for BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) as a legitimate non-violent means to address the Israeli apartheid system and colonization of Palestinian land.
Judith Butler and Etienne Balibar were accompanied by Khulood Badawi, President of The Freedom Theatre Foundation Executive Board and field worker with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as well as Rima Hamame, Professor at the Institute of Women’s Studies at Birzeit University.