This summer, New York City’s Astor Place hosted a bat mitzvah ceremony unlike any other: the Anti-Zionist Bat Mitzvah, an all-day musical extravaganza created by Morgan Bassichis and Ira Khonen Temple. The event started with tutoring sessions on Palestinian popular resistance and the weaponization of the Torah, and ended with a celebratory dance to “Hava Nagila” remixed as an anti-police anthem.
In this episode of Unsettled, producer Ilana Levinson talks to Morgan and Ira about their collaboration, and the importance of joy in collective liberation.
The Anti-Zionist Bat Mitzvah was first performed on July 4, 2021 on Rashid Johnson’s Red Stage in Astor Place. The performance was commissioned by Creative Time and curated by Diya Vij. Performers: Morgan Bassichis, Ira Khonen Temple, Emma Alabaster, April Centrone, Zoë Aqua, and Pam Fleming. Tutors: Shirly Bahar, Brooke Lober, Izzy Mustafa, Tamar Ghabin, Dean Spade, Rabbi Miriam Grossman, and Ita Segev.
This episode was produced by Ilana Levinson and edited by Emily Bell. Original music by Nat Rosensweig.
Special thanks to Aleksei Wagner and Creative Time for performance recordings.
Morgan Bassichis is a comedic performer who has been called “a tall child or, well, a big bird” by The Nation and “fiercely hilarious” by The New Yorker. Morgan’s book of to-do lists, The Odd Years, was published by Wendy’s Subway in 2020. Past shows include Don’t Rain On My Bat Mitzvah (co-created with Ira Khonen Temple, Creative Time, 2021), Nibbling the Hand that Feeds Me (Whitney Museum, NYC, 2019), Klezmer for Beginners (co-created with Ethan Philbrick, Abrons Arts Center, NYC, 2019), Damned If You Duet (The Kitchen, NYC, 2018), More Protest Songs! (Danspace Project, NYC, 2018), and The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions: The Musical (co-created with TM Davy, DonChristian Jones, Michi Ilona Osato, and Una Aya Osato, New Museum, NYC, 2017). Morgan has released two albums: March is for Marches with Ethan Philbrick (2019) and More Protest Songs! Live From St. Mark’s Church (2018).
Ira Khonen Temple is a bandleader, songwriter, and embedded cultural organizer. Recent credits include accordionist for Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, and music director of Indecent at the Weston Playhouse, Great Small Works’ Muntergang and Other Cheerful Downfalls, and the Aftselakhis Spectacle Committe Purimshpil. Ira was a founder of the radical-traditional Yiddish music group Tsibele.
Morgan Bassichis (Photo: Jared Buckhiester)
Ira Khonen Temple (Photo: Zachary Schulman)