To raise awareness about disillusion plaguing both Palestinians and Jews, The Creative Theater, Israel will perform its original play . . . On the Crossroad. . . at 8:15 tonight in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

The play is a unique examination of the Palestinian Uprising, a volatile conflict that exists today in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said former Yachad president Rochelle Lauderback (senior-labor and industrial relations). She said . . . On the Crossroad . . . will show a different side of the issue. . . . On the Crossroad . . . deals with the struggles two friends, an Israeli singer and actress, face while coming to grips with the uprisings in their homeland.

Through her son's experiences fighting in the Gaza Strip, the actress is forced to re-examine her own beliefs about her country.

Lauderback said she hopes the audience learns "Israelis are not war mongers who love to kill little Palestinian kids. It is a bad situation all around."

After the performance, the company will hold a workshop to field questions concerning the play.

For more than 10 years, the Creative Theater has expanded educational drama about Israel. It presents original works focused on issues and tensions prevalent in the Middle Eastern state.

Since Dec. 9, 1987, Palestinians have fought the Israel Defense Forces in an uprising called the Intifada to protest the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Hillel director Rabbi Seth Mandell said Hillel and Yachad, friends of Israel, are sponsoring the play in response to the International Student Council's Intifada panel discussion in November.

Panel discussion chairman Arthur Goldschmidt said he was disappointed by ISC's presentation. Goldschmidt, a professor of Middle East history, said the panel looked stacked against Israel because of the unexpected actions of State University of New York at Brookline professor Norman Finkelstein.

Finkelstein was violently anti-Zionist, meaning he did not support the Israeli cause, Goldschmidt said. Goldschmidt said he was shocked when Finkelstein, a Jew, said the Palestinians should fight harder.

"He generated heat instead of light," Goldschmidt said.

Based on the information ISC had on each candidate, Goldschmidt said he thought the panel would be fair.

ISC past president Abbas Aminmansour (graduate-civil engineering) said the Washington, D.C. bureau chief of the Jerusalem Post, Wolf Blitzer, was invited to speak so all sides of the issue could be present. Other panelists' criticisms of the state of Israel were valid, he said.

"How can you defend people that shoot children for throwing rocks?" Aminmansour asked.

Goldschmidt said the battle between Jews and Palestinians is a no-win game.

"Something has to happen. I just hope it's negotiation, not war," he said.

". . . On The Crossroad. . . " and its post-performance workshop are free and open to the public. Tickets are available at the Hillel Office, 111 and 115 Eisenhower Chapel.