The Post reported that Roth and Zawatsky frequently disagreed on Roth's programming choices, with the most recent being over the the fate of Theater J鈥檚 Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival. In November, the Jewish Daily Forward reported that the DCJCC was removing parts of the festival; Roth told the Post that his comments to the media following that article were used as an example of his insubordination.
"They鈥檝e crafted a letter that鈥檚 saying I鈥檓 resigning, not fired," Roth told the Post, adding, "I was terminated abruptly." He said he refused to sign a severance agreement and that he had been discussing "an elegant transition" that would result in him departing Theater J in a few months.
The DCJCC released a statement quoting Zawatsky Dec. 18 that read: "Ari Roth has had an incredible 18-year tenure leading Theater J, and we know there will be great opportunities ahead for him. Ari leaves us with a vibrant theater that will continue to thrive."
Following the Dec. 18 performance of Theater J's production of 's The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism, with a Key to the Scriptures, cast members took to the stage to read a letter from Kushner supporting Roth, DCTheaterScene reports. Kushner wrote, "Ari wasn't fired, as the executive committee has claimed, because of insubordination. That's a preposterous and cowardly whitewashing of the truth. Ari was fired because he believes that a theater company with a mission to explore Jewish themes and issues cannot acquiesce to a demand for uncritical acceptance of the positions of the Israeli government regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or to insistence on silence. Ari was fired because he refused to surrender to censorship. He was fired because he believes that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are both American values and Jewish values."
The video can be seen in full at the bottom of this article.
In addition, artistic directors from leading theatre companies from across the U.S. issued a statement in support of Roth.
The letter reads:
"We, the undersigned artistic directors, are outraged by the action of the JCC in Washington, DC in summarily dismissing the long-serving artistic director of Theater J, Ari Roth, on the morning of December 18.
"The stated cause was 'insubordination,' and it is absolutely clear that Roth was fired because of the content of the work he has so thoughtfully and ably championed for the last two decades.
"Ari Roth is a capable, brilliant and inspiring leader of the American non-profit theater. The actions of the JCC, in terminating him for blatantly political reasons, violate the principles of artistic freedom and free expression that have been at the heart of the non-profit theater movement for over half a century. Such actions undermine the freedom of us all.
A free people need a free art; debate, dissent, and conflict are at the heart of what makes theater work, and what makes democracy possible. We deplore the actions of the JCC, offer our complete support for Ari Roth, urge the American theater community to protest these events in all possible ways, and call upon the full Board of the JCC to renounce this action of the executive committee of the JCC."
Those who signed the letter of support follow: Andr茅 Bishop (Lincoln Center Theater), Anne Bogart (SITI Company), Art Rotch (Perseverance Theatre), (), (), BJ Jones (Northlight Theatre), Blanka Zizka (The Wilma Theater), Braden Abraham (), (), Carey Perloff (American Conservatory Theater), Charles Newell (Court Theatre), Chay Yew (Victory Gardens Theater), Chris Coleman (Portland ), (La Jolla Playhouse), Curt Columbus (Trinity Repertory Company), (), David Herskovits (Target Margin Theater), David Ira Goldstein (Arizona Theatre Company), (McCarter Theatre), Eric Rosen (), (), (), Howard Shalwitz (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), James Bundy (), Jamil Khoury (Founding Artistic Director, Silk Road Rising), Jasson Minadakis (Marin Theatre Company), (), (The Playwrights' Center), Jim Houghton (), Jim Nicola (), (Guthrie Theater), (New York Stage and Film), John Eisner (), Jonathan Moscone (California Shakespeare Theater), Joseph Haj (PlayMakers Repertory Company), Kent Thompson (Denver Center Theatre Company), Kevin Moriarty (Dallas Theater Center), Kurt Beattie (ACT Theatre), Kwame Kwei-Armah (Center Stage), (), (), Melanie Joseph (The Foundry Theatre), Mia Katigbak (National Asian American Theatre Company), (Shakespeare Theatre Company), (), Michael John Garc茅s (Cornerstone Theater Company), Michelle Hensley (Ten Thousand Things), (), (), (The Public Theater), Patrick Dooley (Shotgun Players), Peter Brosius (Children's Theatre Company), Raelle Myrick-Hodges (Contemporary Arts Center), Ralph Pe帽a (Ma-Yi Theater Company), Rob Melrose (Cutting Ball Theater), (), Sarah Benson (Soho Rep.), Susan Booth (Woodruff Arts Center), (Playwrights Horizons), () and Wendy Goldberg (National Playwrights Conference, Theater Center).
