Juliano Mer Khamis
| Juliano Mer-Khamis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Juliano Khamis 29 May 1958 Nazareth, Israel |
| Died | 4 April 2011 (aged 52) Jenin, West Bank |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Resting place | Kibbutz Ramot Menashe, Israel |
| Occupation | Actor, director, activist |
| Years active | 1984–2011 |
| Spouse(s) | Jenny Nyman (?–2011; his death; 3 children) |
Juliano Mer-Khamis (Hebrew: ג'וליאנו מר ח'מיס; Arabic: جوليانو مير خميس; born Juliano Khamis; 29 May 1958 – 4 April 2011) was an Israeli Jewish/Palestinian Arab actor, director, filmmaker, and political activist of Jewish and Palestinian Eastern Orthodox Christian parentage. On 4 April 2011, he was assassinated by a masked gunman in the Palestinian city of Jenin, where he established The Freedom Theatre.
Juliano Khamis (later Mer-Khamis) was born in Nazareth, the son of Arna Mer-Khamis, a former Palmach combatant who had turned communist on experiencing disenchantment with Zionism after participating in operations to drive the Bedouin out of parts of the Negev, and Saliba Khamis, an Israeli Arab of Eastern Orthodox Palestinian Christian descent who was an intellectual as well as one of the leaders of the Israeli Communist Party in the 1950s. He was called Sputnik Khamas at birth. He had two brothers, Spartacus and Abir. His maternal grandfather was Gideon Mer, a scientist who pioneered the study of malaria during the British Mandate. His father abandoned their household when he was 10 years old. He attended school in Haifa. His cousin is Palestinian hip-hop singer Shadia Mansour.
Mer-Khamas served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade. He was a volunteer, since the army did not send him his draft papers, and he was eager to fight for his country, and on the occasion In his youth, he adopted his maternal surname, Mer, dropping the surname Khamis which identified him as an Arab and had caused him problems among fellow Jews. While his mother was supportive of his enlistement, his father opposed it saying that the IDF was a fascist institution. Mer-Khamas didn't disagree, but countered that, 'I must see with my own eyes that they are really fascist'. He was eventually stationed in Jenin. According to him, one of his tasks was to carry a weapons bag and if someone was killed by accident, a weapon would be left on the corpse. Mer-Khamis said that while his squad was engaged in night-time firing practice they shot a shoulder missile at a donkey, accidentally killing a young girl seated on it. Mer-Khamis said that a load of explosives were left on the donkey to cover up the incident. He recalls beating up Palestinian protestors after they refused to disperse. When asked why, he recalled:
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