Habima Theater (häbē'mä), [Heb.,=the stage], the national theater of Israel. Founded in 1917 in Moscow by Nahum Zemach and at first affiliated with the Moscow Art Theatre, it was one of the first Hebrew-language theaters. In 1926 the company left the Soviet Union and toured extensively for several years before settling in Palestine in 1931, and it was designated the national theater in 1958. Among its best-known productions are The Dybbuk, The Golem, and Oedipus Rex.
Bibliography
See E. Levy, The Habima, Israel's National Theatre, 1917-1977 (1979).
