ICH WERDE NICHT HASSEN (I shall not hate)

I WILL NOT HATE (I shall not hate)
By Izzeldin Abuelaish, in a monologue version for the stage by Silvia Armbruster and Ernst Konarek

"On January 16, 2009 at 4:45 pm, Israeli tank shells were fired into my daughters' bedroom. Bessan, Aya and Mayar were killed instantly, along with their cousin Noor. Because the Israeli military had banned journalists from entering Gaza, I gave a telephone interview to an Israeli TV reporter every day. Minutes after the attack, I called him at the station and he broadcast our phone call. The news went around the world in a flash."

This is the story of Dr. Abuelaish, a Palestinian gynaecologist and fertility expert. He tells of everyday life in Gaza, of waiting at the Israeli checkpoints, of family life between hope and despair and of the deadly attack. He would have every reason to hate Israel, but instead he continues to fight for understanding and reconciliation with Israel: "Hatred makes you blind and leads to irrational thinking and behavior. Peace is humanity. Peace means respect. Peace is an open dialog. More necessary today than ever."

At the 2015 Hamburg Private Theater Festival, Ernst Konarek's production was awarded the Monica Bleibtreu Prize in the "Best Contemporary Drama" category. In its statement, the jury wrote: "The economy of means, the seriousness of the performance borne by desperate humor, the unusual and surprising look at a topic that we thought we had known for a long time - nothing better can happen to us theatergoers than that we are robbed of our certainties and animated to active hope, authenticated by the power of an actor: Mohammad-Ali Behboudi."

"An evening of great intensity." - Stuttgarter Zeitung

"Mohammad-Ali Behboudi's emotionally intense interpretation and the minimalist set turned this factually touching chamber drama into a moving evening of theater." - Stuttgarter Nachrichten

"The play portrays the humiliating harassment that Palestinians have to endure under Israeli rule with great urgency and in great detail (...) The last sentence "It's time to sit down and talk to each other" resonates in the silence for a long time. A great play" - Göttinger Tageblatt

Izzeldin Abuelaish was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, 2011 and 2013