By Cindy and Craig Corrie
(Haifa, Israel) - Word of the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis, founder of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, spread quickly through the internet, through activist circles, and through Haifa – this Mediterranean city in northern Israel where we are staying for the trial in our daughter’s case, and where Mer-Khamis sometimes lived. As we departed Massada Street that evening, friends hailed us from a cafe owned by one of Juliano’s comrades. They had come to join others who needed the comfort of fellow mourners that night. Juliano’s intense, determined, handsome face (projected in photos hung in each of the cafe’s several windows) confronted those who passed by on the narrow sidewalk and street outside. Some stopped before the cluster of burning votive candles that filled a table below one of the portraits, and bent over them to light more. A week later, black stenciled portraits of Juliano and the words “Arna’s son” have appeared on exterior walls throughout the city.
Our family has entered a bit into the mourning. It is another terrible, senseless loss – one that strikes at the hearts of peace-with-justice-seeking-communities throughout Israel, in Palestine, and beyond. We hear that Juliano (“Jules” to some of our friends who knew him best) was a larger than life figure whose presence dominated any setting. Contrary to what occasional critics charge about his allegiances, he is reported to have told Israeli radio, “I am 100% Palestinian and 100% Jewish.” It was this bridge he provided, as well as his passion and courage that seem to have engaged and inspired many others. It is, also, all that he and his mother, Arna Mer, stood for and acted upon – opposition to the occupation, freedom for Palestinians, coexistence, and the freeing of spirits and minds through creative work.
