The Habima Theatre was the first professional Jewish theatre in which plays in the Hebrew language were staged. It was established in 1912 in Białystok. Its origins can be linked to the activities of the travelling troupe of N. Cemach; the theatre began its first actual activities in Moscow in 1917, its founders being N. Cemach, M. Gnessin and H. Rowina. It also engaged in cooperation with K. Stanisławski and J. Wachangtow; its most famous performance was the staging of the play The Dybbuk by Sz. Anski (1922, translated into Hebrew by Ch. Bialik, directed by Wachangtow). From 1926 onwards, the theatre performed in Germany, the United States of America and Palestine; in 1931 the troupe finally settled in Tel Aviv. In 1958, the theatre was granted the status of a national theatre of Israel.

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