There are plenty of kids out there who are scared of clowns and puppets. There is something about characters that sound like people but look like something else that scares the daylights out of them. The professional term for this phenomenon is pediophobia. The vast majority of children manage to overcome this anxiety as they grow up. Apparently, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the Israeli minister of internal security, is not one of them. He still seems to be terrified of puppets.
A week ago, on June 21, Aharonovitch ordered the closure of the Hakawati Theater in east Jerusalem, where a puppet theater festival was slated to take place. According to the closure order, the festival is being held by or sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli law states, “The Palestinian Authority (or any person acting on its behalf or under its aegis or who uses its name) will not act or operate any representation or hold any gatherings or any other activity within the boundaries of the State of Israel unless it has received authorization to do so by the government or the body authorized to grant such permission … The Minister of Internal Security may issue an ordinance to prevent such gatherings or activities from being held insofar as they have not received official authorization as required by law.” This clause served as the basis for the theater’s closure. The festival was cancelled. The curtain dropped.
