What was supposed to be a family-friendly children's entertainment turned into a politically charged event within minutes of starting, according to a report in the New York Post. A Jewish mother who brought her 4-year-old son to a puppet performance in New York City was stunned when the show suddenly pivoted to focus on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The performance, titled "Cardboard Pizza Puppet Circus," was part of the International Puppet Festival of New York, an event that received support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. According to the show's description, it was meant to feature New York City themes including dancing skyscrapers, giant rats, flowers, and the Statue of Liberty.
However, approximately 15 minutes into the performance, the mother said, the show shifted from New York-themed content to political statements targeting Israel. "It went from pizza rats and parallel parking to accusations that Israel is bombing hospitals," she told the New York Post.
She described a scene involving about eight performers depicting something resembling a flotilla (apparently referencing the Gaza flotilla incident) while audience members shouted anti-Israel slogans. At another point, she said, the performers made statements about American taxpayer money being sent to Israel. Her 4-year-old son, unable to understand what was happening, "kept asking what was going on when he saw I was shocked," she recounted.
"The anti-Israel content came out of nowhere," the mother said. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, also criticized the performance and the festival. "This is an inappropriate use of public resources," he wrote, adding that publicly funded cultural programs "should never contribute to an atmosphere where Jews in New York feel unsafe."
