R.I.P Juliano Mer-Khamis
A brave man trying to bring something positive to the West Bank is struck down. Controversial at times, I remember him on an Al Jazeera piece bringing creativity, hope, peace and joy to many of the Jenin youth....RIP
Israeli actor and political activist Juliano Mer-Khamis, 53, was shot dead on Monday outside a theater which he founded in a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Jenin police chief Mohammed Tayyim said Mer-Khamis was shot five times by masked Palestinian militants, but that Israeli security forces were still investigating the circumstances of his murder. A Palestinian ambulance took his body to a nearby checkpoint to be transferred into Israel.
Mer-Khamis' mother, Arna Mer, was an Israeli Jewish activist for Palestinian rights. His father, Saliba Khamis, was a Christian Palestinian. Mer-Khamis was born and raised in Nazareth.
Mer-Khamis was well-known as an actor for his film and theater roles, both in Israel and abroad, and had made a name for himself as a director and a political activist, as well.
Based in Israel, Mer-Khamis was affiliated with the local theater in Jenin, established by his mother in the 1980s. In 2006, Mer-Khamis opened the Freedom Theater in Jenin, along with Zakariya Zubeidi, the former military leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades in that West Bank city.
Zubeidi was appointed the theater director alongside Mer-Khamis in an attempt to subdue the ongoing threats against voiced both the theater and Mer-Khamis. The theater itself was torched twice in the past.
Though Zubeidi was a former militant leader, the threats persisted.
Some of the criticism focused on the fact that the theater offered activities for boys and girls together, which went against the Islamic moral code.
Objectors were also outraged when Mer-Khamis staged the play "Animal Farm" in which the young actors played the part of a pig, which Islam considers an impure animal.
Michael Handesaltz, senior editor and theater critic for Haaretz, described Mer-Khamis as a "great actor, an extraordinary human being whose life-story is part of the tragic reality of this country", who in his death became "another tragic victim of life in the Middle East".
How sad.RIP you brave man.
You guys still going? ROFL at the misspelled "zeitgiest". Nice pick-up FM. Wannabe intellectual is right.
yes i know, I know I know - its your trash!!
It's "you're".
Hey Frenchie - nice dodge again!!! Looks like trash talk is all your good for
Coming from the guy who can't even spell his own username correctly . . . Next we're going to hear how he is an "intellectualismerist". You and Sarah Palin should hang out.
Your last post is kudos to me in demonstrating your lack of reasoning skills in trying to maintain your so called "argument". You have shown us that your slaughter quote is as your are -completely bogus
It's because you are soooooo intimidating with your quick wit and vast philosophical and scientific knowledge. The fact that you can't even spell "zeitgeist" correctly in your username says it all: poser. ROFL.
and that's the rap. Bachus unable to support his claim and then performs the old cut and run trick. What a coward!!!
You're hardly in a position to complain about misquotes, Zeity. "Wiped out off" and "zionsits" ROFL. Goodnight and better luck tomorrow dude
now you want to play semantics Bachus?? The only person here who has utter the words 'wiped off the face of the earth" is you.
Who said "wiped out off"? Another misquote from Zeity. ROFL.
Bachus and Frenchie defeated again. You losers - the fundementals of you so called arguments are a farce as Ahmadinejad never called for anyone to be "wiped out off the face of the earth" You two should get a room.
Bachus--Agreed.
Dude, Juliano did not think like your Iranian hero. He didn't want to wipe anyone off the face of the earth. Do you even know who Juliano Mer-Khamis is? I'm off the thread. And learn how to spell zionists. People might take you more seriously if you did.@FM--No way I'm giving this turd a job. Let him keep working at Qtel.
Frenchie - you seem to have an issue with Juliano thinking alike with Ahmadinejad regarding zionism. But then again, what do you expect? That's the zionist talking inside you.
Then why are you calling him a "zionsits" and saying people who support Juliano are "zionsits"? Bachus--just give him the job he's been asking you for. He's begged long enough and maybe it will keep him busy for a while. Otherwise he's just going to get more bitter. I made a longer case for it in a PM to you.
"Juliano was a not a zionist dude" There you go Bachus! Neither is Ahmadinejad!!! Well done for saying something truthful for once.
LOL at Zeity--"zionsits". The only crazy here is you dude. Juliano was a not a zionist dude. And folk on this thread who are saddened by his death are not zionists. It's just like Mabo day all over again. Get your facts straight chief.
I completely understand you Frenchie - you are ashamed to be a Zionist. But that no excuse for lying you way through an argument
What question of yours is that? How to spell "zionsits"? Still laughing . . .
No frenchie - no sucking up. You will not answer my question because you know you will be exposed again.Deja Vu to you Frenchie!!
What is a "zionsits"? If you're going to falsely accuse people of something, at least spell it write. ROFL.
So now Frenchie and 2012 finally admit they are zionists. It took a while, but truth will always be outed
jjj75--I get the anti-Olympics stuff on other threads (he's a bit off the map). But he's spot on here for a change. Juliano was a decent human being; associating him crazy killers like Ahmaninejad, as Zeit did, is despicable.
F/man - but you feel so much better once you have said it
Classy, Zeit. Very classy. Insults are the last resort of the out-argued and weak-minded.
Exactly Olympics. Why sully his good name like this?
up yours 2012
RIP.Zeitergeist is a toad. Why slander the good name of Juliano by associating him with Ahmaninejad? Have respect for the dead.
At this stage the only person mentioning the "slaughtering" of Israelis is you. Another red herring which you seem to excel in. Have another try.
He didn't want to slaughter Israelis the way your hero Ahmadinejad did.
Then in that case - you tell me. Was Juliano a cheerleader for zionism or not??
Way to support Ahmadinejad--exactly what Juliano Mer-Khamis would NOT do. If more thought like Juliano and less like Ahmadinejad the world would be a much better place.
the occupation must end. On this I agree with Ahmadinejad - WIPING ZIONISM OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH
palestinian.. is a nationality.. there are Muslims, Christians and Jews.. however, Jewish Palestinians are treated as second class by ISRAEL!
OK...Thanks for the info.
why not , according to Jewish religion , anyone who born from a Jewish mother considered as a Jew.
and the arab jews in palestine have parties and participating in political life, but they are not allowed to enroll themselves in election and become priminesters presidents ..etc.
one_shot I am aware of that but tell me is it possible for Palestinians to be Jews or not?
the conflict is between Arabs and Zionists , not muslims and jews.
it is regional conflict not religious conflict.
that is why you find arabic christians are against israel
Yes but does Palestinian essentially mean a moslem?
Jewish mother and Palestinian father
Was he half jewish like Mr.Zbeidi or 100% jewish as he used to claim?
'Juliano Mer-Khamis was an Israeli-Palestinian actor, film director and activist.
He refused to define himself as half-Israeli, half Palestinian, "I'm 100 per cent Jewish and 100 per cent Palestinian," he used to say. He gained international fame for his documentary Arna's Children, which chronicled the work of his mother, who founded an educational project for the children of the Jenin refugee camp on the West Bank in the 1980s. He was murdered in the same camp when armed and masked men stopped his car and shot him as he was leaving the Freedom Theatre he had founded.
Juliano Mer-Khamis was born in 1958 in Haifa to communist activists, Arna Mer, who was Jewish, and a Palestinian, Saliba Khamis. At 18, he joined the Israeli Army "to upset my parents" but a violent fight with another soldier ended his service. A few years later, he said, he attempted to join the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Europe but was rejected.
While his mother was busy creating her project, Juliano Mer-Khamis was a budding theatre and film actor of some repute. British viewers may remember his role as Julio in The Little Drummer Girl (1984), based on the John Le Carré novel. His talent was undisputed but he was also known for his exceptional good looks and some public violent outbursts. The wild child of Israeli theatre worried his mother, who thought it might be a good idea involve him in voluntary activity in her Jenin project. Accordingly she asked him to start a theatre group for the camp's children.
Arna's Children followed the last days of Arna Mer-Khamis and her death from cancer, at the same time documenting the breathtaking, and often heart-breaking, process in which the young Palestinians in the youth theatre turn into the military leadership of the Jenin camp, culminating in the fierce fighting against Israeli forces during the Battle of Jenin in April 2002. The film won numerous international prizes, including the first prizes for documentaries at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Prague One World Festival and the Dutch Academy Awards.
Of the wide-eyed children taking delight in their theatrical productions in the early 1980s, and the ardent young Fatah activists who led their camp in 2002, only two remain alive. One of them, Zakaria Zbeidi, the commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades in the camp, became the manager of the theatre in 2004 alongside Mer-Khamis. The message Zbeidi was sending out was clear: Mer-Khamis might be an Israeli citizen and half-Jewish, but he was under the protection of the Fatah forces in the camp.
Following Mer-Khamis's death Zbeidi said that a "big hand" had ordered the assassination, but would not expand. Israeli newspapersmade heavy hints towards Islamic factions who were unhappy with the liberal nature of the Freedom Theatre, which had suffered threats in recent years, and was set on fire a few months ago. A leaflet distributed in Jenin in April 2009 made death threats against Mer-Khamis, who said at the time: "I do not pretend to be a hero. Of course I am scared. But I'm not one for running away".
Mer-Khamis, the bad boy of the 1980s and '90s, had mellowed over the last few years. Losing his mother, the sights of death and despair in Jenin, fatherhood and family life, all conspired to "make me grow up", as he told me in a visit to London five years ago. Mer had two children, a boy and a girl, with his first partner, while his Finnish wife Jenny was pregnant with twins when he died.
A statement by his family said: "For Juliano, freedom emanated from within. Art, politics, love and life were one. He was a rebel with a cause, a cultural freedom fighter, an articulate advocate of simple truths." Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians, actors, directors, politicians and friends, attended his funeral in Kibutz Ramot-Menashe, where his was buried next to his mother. The funeral procession went on into the West Bank, to Jenin, where he had lived and died for the Freedom Theatre.
Juliano Mer-Khamis actor, film director and political activist: born Haifa, Israel 29 May 1958; one son, one daughter, married Jenny; died West Bank 4 April 2011.'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/juliano-merkhamis-actor-filmmaker-and-political-activist-who-set-up-the-freedom-theatre-on-the-west-bank-2265478.html
and a short film by Freedom Theatre:
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Some Israilis didn't like him for his views against the occupation. And some Palestinians didn't like him for his support of womens rights.
A sad loss.
Thank you one_shot for the link.
RIP.
I have started watching the film. Thanks for the link
even though the film is not showing half of the reality
RIP - REST IN PEAS
when i heard his mother's name Arna i remembered Arna's children.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408504/
the name is related to her and he was the director
watch it , it is a great documentary talking about a REAL and SAD story of these kids in Palestine.
A murder that makes no sense. He was trying to bridge the gap between two factions and in the end gave his life for a cause.
May he Rest in Peace.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-actor-juliano-mer-khamis-shot-dead-in-jenin-1.354044