‘Religious-friendly’ circus raises Israeli municipality’s ire

December 1, 2011 - 7:24 PM by David

It’s a given that Israeli society consists of factions – religious, Tel Avivi, mizrahim, people who wear sandals with socks. But one place we can always put our sectarianism aside is at the circus. Or so we thought.

Now it appears that the divisions within Israeli society between the observant and the secular are even filtering down to that grand institution of family entertainment. The circus has already undergone one revolution in the years since I was kid – you won’t find animals as the star attractions anymore, thanks to the efforts of the animal rights activists around the world.

But in an effort to appeal to the religious audience in Israel, the Medrano Circus from Italy has also been doing away with another endangered species – women. Half of the 24 scheduled shows over Hannukah in the city of Givat Shmuel were to feature only male performers, per an arrangement with the promoter who wanted to appeal to the religious community.

However, according to a report in Haaretz, when the Givat Shmuel Municipality heard about the decision, they refused to grant the circus the necessary permits required for the performances.

The first “religious-friendly” circus performances took place last year in Lod, under the title “Circus with a Skullcap,” and according to impresario Doron Etzioni, they were a huge success. Therefore, when he brought in Medrano this year, he and the circus agreed that a few performances would similarly be in this format. This time, however, he decided the venue would be Givat Shmuel, the last city in which Medrano was due to appear on its Israel tour.

Etzioni said it never entered his head that performances aimed at the religious public would spark opposition, and especially not in a city with many religious residents. But that is what happened when the first advertisements for the show appeared two weeks ago.

Should a promoter be allowed to cater to a particular audience, and should a municipality be allowed to act as lord master over that decision? Only the lady in the flying trapeze knows for sure – but she wasn’t invited to the show.

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