The Freedom Theater
This theater was established in 1990 by the peace activist Arna Mer-Khamis, in the Jenin camp, and it was first called the Stone Theater, and it aimed to teach children and educate them about what they suffered after displacement, and about the events they went through from Al-Nakba, and the attacks of the occupation.
Several years later, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi contacted Juliano Mer-Khamis, the son of Arna Khamis, to revive the idea, especially since Zakaria was one of the students of the Stone Theater. In 2006, the Freedom Theater was officially opened. This project aimed to create a kind of resistance through art, poetry, and music, intending to convey the voice of Palestine to the world, and that art is one form of resistance.
Juliano Khamis was assassinated in front of the Theatre on April 4, 2011. Until now, there are no details about the reason for his assassination, and the case remained open without the presence of an accused or a clear party behind the assassination. Recently, a group of Khamis students performed a play under the title (Stolen Dreams) in memory of their teacher, Khamis.
The theater offers a range of activities for the youth through drama workshops. It also provides a three-year theater educational program focusing on acting. This program introduces students to theater methods according to Juliano Khamis's vision. The program also aims to use drama as a kind of treatment for the emotional and psychological trauma, due to the practices and barbarism of the Israeli occupation.