A theatrical event held at the Al-Midan Theater in Haifa in honor of "Palestinian Prisoners' Day" on Saturday night faced vigorous protests from the Almagor Terror Victims Association.
Performed at the event, which took place two days after Israel's Memorial Day and Independence Day, was the play "Simultaneous Time" inspired by the story of terrorist Walid Daka.
Daka, born in Baka Al Gharbiya, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lod Military Court in 1987. He was convicted for his involvement and activity in a terror cell responsible for kidnapping and murdering Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in August 1984.
The play is described online "an attempt to discover the man as prisoner, and not the cliche that makes him a symbol or statistic and forgets that he is a human with a life story, desires, and dreams."
Bereaved families for Almagor were furious, calling the platform provided to an event which aims to humanize despicable murderers both unnecessary and unjustifiable.
"The terrorist murder must languish in prison and not leave until his death, exactly as our relatives were buried in the ground forever," the families said.
Almagor also raised the issue of the funding received by Al-Midan from both the Haifa Municipality and the Ministry of Culture.
"All the financial support comes from Israeli taxpayers, including bereaved families paying taxes according to the law, and is going to an anti-Israel event whose subtext is the call to release 'repented' terrorists, who are being treated like people and not murderers."
"This type of financial support is inappropriate and must be stopped immediately," Almagor added.
Almagor has called on the Haifa Municipality and Ministry of Culture to disclose the amount of funding Al-Midan Theater received for the event as well as to cease all future financial support for the event and the theater.