JERUSALEM — Knowledge of woodwork, love of theater, fascination with puppets and the determination to save puppet theater from extinction made Jerusalemite artist Abdel Salam Abdo one of the leading figures in Middle Eastern puppet theater.
Today, Abdo, 53, is pulling the strings to ensure that puppet shows will not be a dying art. He organizes workshops for young artists in Tunisia, Morocco, United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The former director of the Jerusalem International Puppet Festival from 2000 to 2012, Abdo is also trying to get the Arab Theater Institute in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to organize an annual forum for Arab puppeteers and puppet-makers, as well as workshops.