PRESS
for WRESTLING JERUSALEM
FILM REVIEWS AND PRESS
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"Aaron Davidman, the writer and performer, toured with the theatrical show for years before adapting it to the screen. In the film, he embodies more than a dozen men and women affected by decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians... Mr. Davidman ends up not far from where he begins — his first line is “It’s complicated.” But that doesn’t mean nothing is gained. The stories in “Wrestling Jerusalem” help to humanize issues too often spoken of in terms of land and politics. Every step forward, no matter how slight, is worth something." - New York Times, Sept 12, 2017
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FILM THREAT
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM surmounts the exponentially tangled paradox of the occupation, exploring a gradient swath of personal perspectives, all the while remaining accessible and accommodating to those outside looking inward."
REVIEW HERE.
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM surmounts the exponentially tangled paradox of the occupation, exploring a gradient swath of personal perspectives, all the while remaining accessible and accommodating to those outside looking inward."
REVIEW HERE.
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM dramatically grapples with intricacies of Mideast peace. The one-man show, newly adapted to film and screening this week in Israel, is a political minefield as it covers an impossible situation from all sides. But is anyone listening?"
REVIEW HERE.
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM dramatically grapples with intricacies of Mideast peace. The one-man show, newly adapted to film and screening this week in Israel, is a political minefield as it covers an impossible situation from all sides. But is anyone listening?"
REVIEW HERE.
i24 "TRENDING"
Emily Frances Balshan talks with Aaron for Israeli television audiences on the eve of the Israel film premiere. WATCH HERE.
Emily Frances Balshan talks with Aaron for Israeli television audiences on the eve of the Israel film premiere. WATCH HERE.
AMERICA MAGAZINE
How a one-man film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fights the evil of silence. REVIEW HERE.
How a one-man film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fights the evil of silence. REVIEW HERE.
UNORTHODOX PODCAST
Aaron and Dylan talk with the smart and sassy hosts of this popular podcast hosted by Tablet, and lead by Mark Oppenheimer, about the making of the film.
LISTEN HERE.
Aaron and Dylan talk with the smart and sassy hosts of this popular podcast hosted by Tablet, and lead by Mark Oppenheimer, about the making of the film.
LISTEN HERE.
DIRECTOR TALK
Interviews with filmmakers from the around the world. Judy Gelman talks with Aaron. ARTICLE HERE.
Interviews with filmmakers from the around the world. Judy Gelman talks with Aaron. ARTICLE HERE.
BEST OF TORONTO
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Through One Actor and 17 Characters." ARTICLE HERE
"WRESTLING JERUSALEM humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Through One Actor and 17 Characters." ARTICLE HERE
JEWISH FILM INSTITUTE "Talk Amongst Yourselves"
A video conversation with Michael Krasny and Aaron Davidman, with questions from the audience, taped Feb 3, 2017 at Alamo Draft House at the New Mission Theatre. WATCH HERE
A video conversation with Michael Krasny and Aaron Davidman, with questions from the audience, taped Feb 3, 2017 at Alamo Draft House at the New Mission Theatre. WATCH HERE
JEWCY.COM (BY TABLET MAGAZINE)
"Everything and anything you’ve ever thought or heard about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: it’s all in this movie." FULL REVIEW
"Everything and anything you’ve ever thought or heard about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: it’s all in this movie." FULL REVIEW
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: SF JEWISH FILM FEST: MOVIES YOU SHOULDN'T MISS
"It's a tour-de-force for the actor/writer, but one made all the better due to its director..." FULL REVIEW
"It's a tour-de-force for the actor/writer, but one made all the better due to its director..." FULL REVIEW
FANBOY NATION
"Anyone who is interested in finding out what the people on the ground actually think about the conflict rather than what the political leaders tell you to think regarding the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, then Wrestling Jerusalem is a must see." FULL REVIEW
"Anyone who is interested in finding out what the people on the ground actually think about the conflict rather than what the political leaders tell you to think regarding the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, then Wrestling Jerusalem is a must see." FULL REVIEW
KQED'S FORUM WITH MICHAEL KRASNY
Michael Krasny interviews Aaron on the day of the world premiere presented by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival at the Castro Theater. LISTEN HERE.
Michael Krasny interviews Aaron on the day of the world premiere presented by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival at the Castro Theater. LISTEN HERE.
THEATRICAL PRODUCTION REVIEWS & PRESS
WHYY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT(review)
"Aaron Davidman’s enriching one-man play about Israelis and Palestinians, which he’s performing bravely at Philadelphia Theatre Company, is an act of defiance at a time when Americans are so willing – even eager – to take sides without exploring the facts." FULL REVIEW
"Aaron Davidman’s enriching one-man play about Israelis and Palestinians, which he’s performing bravely at Philadelphia Theatre Company, is an act of defiance at a time when Americans are so willing – even eager – to take sides without exploring the facts." FULL REVIEW
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER (review)
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a healthy call to summon anger, then turn away – to as many other ways of seeing and feeling as we can stand, and more." FULL REVIEW
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a healthy call to summon anger, then turn away – to as many other ways of seeing and feeling as we can stand, and more." FULL REVIEW
JEWISH INDEPENDENT - CANADA (preview)
"Most of us have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But how many of us have listened to others’ perspectives, really considered them and tried to understand them? Aaron Davidman has." FULL PIECE
"Most of us have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But how many of us have listened to others’ perspectives, really considered them and tried to understand them? Aaron Davidman has." FULL PIECE
CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS (preview)
"When people ask playwright and actor Aaron Davidman for a pat answer to what he “really thinks” about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his response is usually along the lines of: “I spent 10 years crafting a 90-minute play about it. I can’t exactly take a stand in a few sentences.” FULL PIECE
"When people ask playwright and actor Aaron Davidman for a pat answer to what he “really thinks” about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his response is usually along the lines of: “I spent 10 years crafting a 90-minute play about it. I can’t exactly take a stand in a few sentences.” FULL PIECE
THE WASHINGTON POST (Review of the New York production)
"...what’s old can seem fresh again, through the skills of a fine storyteller." FULL REVIEW
"...what’s old can seem fresh again, through the skills of a fine storyteller." FULL REVIEW
THE NEW YORK JEWISH WEEK (review)
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a no-frills, virtuosic 90-minute solo performance." FULL REVIEW
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a no-frills, virtuosic 90-minute solo performance." FULL REVIEW
NPR's "THE HIDDEN BRAIN" PODCAST
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EMPATHIZE WITH THE ENEMY
Shankar Vedantam talks with Avner Gvaryahu and Mohammad Dajani, followed by an excerpt of WRESTLING JERUSALEM.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EMPATHIZE WITH THE ENEMY
Shankar Vedantam talks with Avner Gvaryahu and Mohammad Dajani, followed by an excerpt of WRESTLING JERUSALEM.
THE WASHINGTON POST
"BREATHTAKING...Sweeping yet personal...a panoramic overview of one of the worlds most chronic conflicts." FULL REVIEW.
"BREATHTAKING...Sweeping yet personal...a panoramic overview of one of the worlds most chronic conflicts." FULL REVIEW.
DC METRO THEATER ARTS (column)
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a luminous revelation on the sacred and the profane and the clash between the two." FULL PIECE
"Wrestling Jerusalem is a luminous revelation on the sacred and the profane and the clash between the two." FULL PIECE
DC METRO THEATER ARTS (review)
"The passion of the man FILLS THE STAGE...the subjective terrain of Wrestling Jerusalem occupies the space that is normally reserved for poetry, the subjective interior where internal conflicts wrestle it out, for dominance, for clarity, for wholeness." FULL REVIEW
"The passion of the man FILLS THE STAGE...the subjective terrain of Wrestling Jerusalem occupies the space that is normally reserved for poetry, the subjective interior where internal conflicts wrestle it out, for dominance, for clarity, for wholeness." FULL REVIEW
WASHINGTON LIFE
"Brilliant and provocative...Davidman's performance is mesmerizing as he moves easily about the stage under Michael John Garcés' careful direction." FULL REVIEW
"Brilliant and provocative...Davidman's performance is mesmerizing as he moves easily about the stage under Michael John Garcés' careful direction." FULL REVIEW
DC THEATER SCENE
"A whirlwind solo tour through the protracted Israel-Palestine conflict. Davidman channels over a dozen distinct personalities, all brimming with hope, anger, and regret over the state of their divided home." FULL REVIEW
"A whirlwind solo tour through the protracted Israel-Palestine conflict. Davidman channels over a dozen distinct personalities, all brimming with hope, anger, and regret over the state of their divided home." FULL REVIEW
MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO INTERVIEW
A NEW PLAY ABOUT LIFE IN JERUSALEM OPENS AT THE GUTHRIE.
Aaron and MPR News' Euan Kerr discuss WRESTLING JERUSALEM.
A NEW PLAY ABOUT LIFE IN JERUSALEM OPENS AT THE GUTHRIE.
Aaron and MPR News' Euan Kerr discuss WRESTLING JERUSALEM.
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
WRESTLING JERUSALEM IS A RIVETING SOLO JOURNEY by Lisa Brock
“It’s complicated,” Aaron Davidman announces at the top of “Wrestling Jerusalem.” He’s going for a laugh, but also giving fair warning to his audience: Don’t expect easy answers over the course of the next 80 minutes. [READ THE FULL STAR TRIBUNE REVIEW OF THE GUTHRIE THEATRE PRODUCTION]
WRESTLING JERUSALEM IS A RIVETING SOLO JOURNEY by Lisa Brock
“It’s complicated,” Aaron Davidman announces at the top of “Wrestling Jerusalem.” He’s going for a laugh, but also giving fair warning to his audience: Don’t expect easy answers over the course of the next 80 minutes. [READ THE FULL STAR TRIBUNE REVIEW OF THE GUTHRIE THEATRE PRODUCTION]
TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS
WRESTLING JERUSALEM LOOKS TO PIN DOWN A LITTLE UNDERSTANDING by Chris Hewitt
The first words of "Wrestling Jerusalem" are that Facebook favorite -- "It's complicated" -- and the rest of the show is an act of understanding, an attempt by writer/performer Aaron Davidman to wrap his arms around the complications of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. [READ THE FULL REVIEW]
WRESTLING JERUSALEM LOOKS TO PIN DOWN A LITTLE UNDERSTANDING by Chris Hewitt
The first words of "Wrestling Jerusalem" are that Facebook favorite -- "It's complicated" -- and the rest of the show is an act of understanding, an attempt by writer/performer Aaron Davidman to wrap his arms around the complications of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. [READ THE FULL REVIEW]
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
SOLO SHOW GOES TO THE MAT by Robert Hurwitt
"There's a sinuous, yearning beauty in Aaron Davidman's segue from a Hebrew song to a Muslim prayer. Deep sadness and wistful hope emanate from his portraits of Israelis and Palestinians in "Wrestling Jerusalem," which opened Saturday at Intersection for the Arts. "It's complicated," Davidman tells us at the beginning. It sure is. " [READ THE FULL SF CHRONICLE REVIEW]
SOLO SHOW GOES TO THE MAT by Robert Hurwitt
"There's a sinuous, yearning beauty in Aaron Davidman's segue from a Hebrew song to a Muslim prayer. Deep sadness and wistful hope emanate from his portraits of Israelis and Palestinians in "Wrestling Jerusalem," which opened Saturday at Intersection for the Arts. "It's complicated," Davidman tells us at the beginning. It sure is. " [READ THE FULL SF CHRONICLE REVIEW]
TIKKUN MAGAZINE
LOVING THE STRANGER by Corey Fischer
"Wrestling Jerusalem offers no solutions to the intractable conflicts it explores. But it fiercely insists on continuing to imagine that peace is possible, that it’s “not a fantasy.” By embodying all these human beings so deeply, by fulfilling the commandment to love these “strangers,” Aaron allows us to fully experience that possibility. If the play is still running by the time you read this, I urge you to go." [READ THE FULL TIKKUN REVIEW]
LOVING THE STRANGER by Corey Fischer
"Wrestling Jerusalem offers no solutions to the intractable conflicts it explores. But it fiercely insists on continuing to imagine that peace is possible, that it’s “not a fantasy.” By embodying all these human beings so deeply, by fulfilling the commandment to love these “strangers,” Aaron allows us to fully experience that possibility. If the play is still running by the time you read this, I urge you to go." [READ THE FULL TIKKUN REVIEW]
SF BAY GUARDIAN
STATE OF POSSESSION
Aaron Davidman's Wrestling Jerusalem embodies the divide over Israel-Palestine by Robert Avila
"While cleaving to core values of equity and justice throughout, Davidman respectfully represents views that range to extreme points on either side of the messy debate. At the same time, the act of doing so becomes its own trauma. As if in a state of possession, Davidman manifests the inner and outer turmoil in a physical performance marked by often-anguished gestural passages, stirring liturgical verses, unexpected humor, and a series of neatly etched characters."
[READ THE FULL SF BAY GUARDIAN REVIEW]
STATE OF POSSESSION
Aaron Davidman's Wrestling Jerusalem embodies the divide over Israel-Palestine by Robert Avila
"While cleaving to core values of equity and justice throughout, Davidman respectfully represents views that range to extreme points on either side of the messy debate. At the same time, the act of doing so becomes its own trauma. As if in a state of possession, Davidman manifests the inner and outer turmoil in a physical performance marked by often-anguished gestural passages, stirring liturgical verses, unexpected humor, and a series of neatly etched characters."
[READ THE FULL SF BAY GUARDIAN REVIEW]
AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD
WRESTLING JERUSALEM OFFERS A NUANCED VIEW by Mordecai Specktor
Read the interview with Aaron Davidman.
WRESTLING JERUSALEM OFFERS A NUANCED VIEW by Mordecai Specktor
Read the interview with Aaron Davidman.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
WRESTLING JERUSALEM: RAFTS OF NARRATIVES ON CONFLICT by Robert Hurwitt
Ask playwright-performer Aaron Davidman how long he's been working on "Wrestling Jerusalem;" and he may start by citing the "several years" he's been developing it in workshops, segue to the decade it's been germinating and all the way back to his first trip to Israel when he was 25 in 1992. Each answer makes sense. It's not an unreasonable amount of time to try to make sense of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This isn't his first attempt. Davidman was the last artistic director of the famed Traveling Jewish Theatre for its last decade (part of that time as the Jewish Theatre San Francisco), during which he directed the three-year creation of "Blood Relative," a collaboration among American, Israeli and Palestinian artists that opened in 2005.
Since TJT folded three years ago, he's written the first draft of another play, "a love story" about the topic, while getting his master's of fine arts in playwriting at San Francisco State University and doing some freelance directing. And wrestling with "Jerusalem." [READ THE FULL INTERVIEW]
WRESTLING JERUSALEM: RAFTS OF NARRATIVES ON CONFLICT by Robert Hurwitt
Ask playwright-performer Aaron Davidman how long he's been working on "Wrestling Jerusalem;" and he may start by citing the "several years" he's been developing it in workshops, segue to the decade it's been germinating and all the way back to his first trip to Israel when he was 25 in 1992. Each answer makes sense. It's not an unreasonable amount of time to try to make sense of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This isn't his first attempt. Davidman was the last artistic director of the famed Traveling Jewish Theatre for its last decade (part of that time as the Jewish Theatre San Francisco), during which he directed the three-year creation of "Blood Relative," a collaboration among American, Israeli and Palestinian artists that opened in 2005.
Since TJT folded three years ago, he's written the first draft of another play, "a love story" about the topic, while getting his master's of fine arts in playwriting at San Francisco State University and doing some freelance directing. And wrestling with "Jerusalem." [READ THE FULL INTERVIEW]
SF ARTS MONTHLY
"PAIN AND PASSION PERMEATE WRESTLING JERUSALEM" by Jean Schiffman
In his new one-man show, Aaron Davidman explores the complexities of the Middle East.
“To understand the Middle East, one has to be able to hold a simultaneity of truths,” says Intersection for the Arts artist-in-residence Aaron Davidman, whose new solo show, “Wrestling Jerusalem,” opens this month.
A self-described “Everyman progressive American Jew,” Davidman first visited Israel in 1992 at the age of 25, to study Torah. “After that trip, I knew there was some synthesis I was reaching for,” he says, sipping tea at a Berkeley café in the Elmwood district near his home. “I knew the storyteller in me and the young Jewish man in me—those two parts would come together somehow.” [READ THE FULL INTERVIEW]
"PAIN AND PASSION PERMEATE WRESTLING JERUSALEM" by Jean Schiffman
In his new one-man show, Aaron Davidman explores the complexities of the Middle East.
“To understand the Middle East, one has to be able to hold a simultaneity of truths,” says Intersection for the Arts artist-in-residence Aaron Davidman, whose new solo show, “Wrestling Jerusalem,” opens this month.
A self-described “Everyman progressive American Jew,” Davidman first visited Israel in 1992 at the age of 25, to study Torah. “After that trip, I knew there was some synthesis I was reaching for,” he says, sipping tea at a Berkeley café in the Elmwood district near his home. “I knew the storyteller in me and the young Jewish man in me—those two parts would come together somehow.” [READ THE FULL INTERVIEW]
