Hailed as a hero after the Six Day War, Shmuel Gonen, known as Gorodish, was appointed Chief of the Southern Command on July 15, 1973. Less than three months later, on October 6, 1973, the Yom Kippur War began. On October 10, 1973 General Gonen was relieved of his command. Severely criticized for his actions and decisions made in the first days of the war, Gonen resigned from the IDF in 1974, and left Israel for Africa. It is a universal story, the rise and fall of a hero, in an Israeli context.
Telling the story of General Gonen, Hillel Mitelpunkt’s play Gorodish also tells the story of the playwright’s generation, a generation that came of age as Israel entered the 1970s trailing clouds of glory from 1967, clouds that obscured the political reality. First performed at the Cameri Theatre in 1993, the current revival is Mitelpunkt’s adaptation of his own play, looking further and deeper into this story in light of new information, such as documents from the Agranat Committee’s investigation of the Yom Kippur War, that have only recently been made public. Directed by Mitelpunkt, the first shows will begin on December 12, 2014.
Natan Datner stars as Gorodish, with Alon Dahan as Epstein, the General’s loyal assistant who has a conflicted relationship with his mentor. In a press meeting held last Thursday at the Cameri Theatre, journalists were invited backstage to see a few select scenes from the play. As rehearsals are now going full speed, the scenes were not performed in costume in order to save time, and the set was only partial, but the story and characters are completely captivating. Whether Gorodish is challenging an IDF rabbi to compete with him in doing push-ups, humiliating a young female soldier or laying down the law, he is clearly a difficult, complex character. The play portrays Gorodish as a stickler for rules, whose strict enforcement of those rules and severe punishments were enough to drive soldiers to despair.
Introducing the scenes, playwright Mitelpunkt shared his own memories of those times saying, “When I was drafted in 1967, newly inducted soldiers were asked: Do you want to go to Golani, Artillary, or Gorodish? He was the Armored Corps, he was a symbol. He was a symbol of tyranny; making arbitrary, unacceptable demands, regarding the smallest infraction as equal to the most serious violation of military discipline.”
The play opens in the later chapters of Gorodish’s life, when the well known journalist Adam Baruch travelled to Africa to interview the former IDF General. From that vantage point, the play looks back to the early pre-67 days, Shmuel Gonen’s rise to military success, and his eventual downfall. Watching Datner in this role, it is easy to see how such a man might inspire admiration as well as loathing, fear and awe, loyalty and criticism. One of the most poignant and chilling moments came during a scene in which Gorodish’s ‘team’ are helping him prepare for his testimony before the Agranat Committee. As they try to plan their strategy and run through possible questions that the committee might ask Gorodish, the loyal Epstein, now a young lawyer, reflects on the Yom Kippur War, the political climate and decision making that preceded the war, and wonders: “Do I believe that my country will prefer conquest to peace?”
The play will be performed in Hebrew, with a live band. In future months, the play will also be accompanied by subtitles in English, consult the Cameri Theatre website for dates, times and tickets. See more photos on Midnight East’s facebook page.
