The Israeli Hour Theater for Children on a World Tour

With the aim of connecting children and youth in Jewish communities to the Hebrew language and Israeli culture through a theatrical experience, The Israeli Hour Theater is set to become a global theater in the coming months, with children's plays scheduled to perform in Europe, South America, and the US, in collaboration with the Department of Hebrew Language and Community Resilience of the World Zionist Organization.

The play "Israel's Champion," based on the life story of Olympic medalist Oren Smadja, will be performed in the coming months in several shows for Jewish communities in Europe. The tour will open during September in Holland and Belgium, where the play will be performed several times, and in October, it will continue to Berlin, where it will also be presented to the local Jewish community. In October, the play "Made in Israel" will also head to Paris, with future performances planned for Miami, Mexico, Brazil, and Italy.

Itai Vana, Head of the Department of Hebrew Language and Community Resilience at the World Zionist Organization, stated: "The Hebrew Play Festival includes selected and relevant plays from theaters approved by the Ministry of Education. This is a festival that has become an annual tradition in Jewish schools worldwide and within the Jewish community. The project contributes to strengthening the connection to the Hebrew language in the Diaspora, and the language has become the factor that unites us all over the world. The stronger our communication, the better and tighter our Jewish identity is preserved. Jewish youth who do not speak Hebrew will, over time, lose their connection to Jewish identity, and we want to protect the communities from assimilation as much as possible. The ability to communicate in a shared language maintains unity among us in different communities. The festival we initiated receives amazing reviews from the communities themselves; it strengthens us as a people in the Diaspora as well, and I am happy to take part in this. This year, the festival will reach South America, Europe, and the US."

For The Israeli Hour Theater, this represents a significant expansion of international activity, which is being built around the connection between culture, language, and community, as children encounter Hebrew plays on stage through stories, characters, humor, and values coming directly from Israeli creativity.

International activity takes on added importance at a time when the connection between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide is at the center of the discourse. For the children, encountering an Israeli play in Hebrew is a direct meeting with Israel—not through the news or school lessons, but through living culture, imagination, and storytelling, allowing them to experience the connection to Israel through humor, emotion, and pride.

(Photo: Radi Rubenstein)