Short answers, pulled from the story.
Habima Theatre was founded in 1912 by Nahum Lazarevich Tsemakh (1887-1939) in Białystok, then part of the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire. Menahem Gnessin was a co-founder and one of its earliest actors.
Russian authorities banned Habima because its performances were conducted in Hebrew, drew on Jewish folk tradition, and dealt with themes of Jewish life. The ban forced the company to become a travelling troupe.
Habima has been officially recognized as the national theatre of Israel since 1958, the year it received the Israel Prize for theatre. That was also the first year the Israel Prize was awarded to an organization rather than an individual.
In 1926, Habima left the Soviet Union to tour Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. The productions met with great success, but in 1927 the company split, with founder Tsemakh and some actors choosing to remain in the United States.
Habima Theatre is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. The company settled permanently in Palestine in 1931 and built its Tel Aviv theatre in 1945, occupying it before construction was fully complete.
The renovation of Habima Theatre cost more than NIS 100 million and the theatre reopened in January 2012 after four and a half years of work. Architect Ram Karmi redesigned the building, adding 500 square meters of floor space and three new rehearsal rooms.