But why target a dance company? What does Batsheva have to do with Israel's geopolitical conflicts? The protestors, who tend to be locally organized members of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, see Batsheva as a tool of the Israeli government's efforts to distract from political controversies, such as the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Outside the Joyce on the Eighth Avenue sidewalk earlier this week, two different protesting groups, contained behind police barriers, vied for public attention as the opening-night audience arrived; security guards carefully searched and grilled us. Batsheva, whose summer tour to the States is supported in part by the Israeli government, drew the ire of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, and supporters of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies hollered back.