PROFILE: PALESTINIAN ACTOR DOES COMEDY ROUTINE AT ISRAELI CHECKPOINTS TO REDUCE STRESS AND TENSION

All Things Considered: December 6, 2003

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Now some distance to the west, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank spend hours waiting to cross Israeli checkpoints, and we want to introduce you to a Palestinian actor and mimic who is trying to make that wait more bearable. He says humor can ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, and NPR's Linda Gradstein reports that he seems to be succeeding.

LINDA GRADSTEIN reporting:

The Hawara checkpoint on the outskirts of Nablus is known as one of the busiest in the West Bank. On a recent morning, dozens of Palestinians waving Israeli permits face-off against two heavily armed Israeli soldiers behind a roll of concertina wire. The checkpoint is especially tense today because soldiers discovered a 50-pound bomb in a bag nearby. The crossing was closed for several hours but has now reopened.

One of those waiting to cross this day is Palestinian actor Mohammed Faqih. He's on his way from Nablus, where he has one wife and children, to Bethlehem where his second wife lives. Suddenly, Faqih steps out of the line and launches his comedy routine. Within minutes, he has the Palestinians laughing with a well-done impression of Yasser Arafat.

Mr. MOHAMMED FAQIH (Actor): (Through Translator) Despite all of the humiliation on Palestinian lands, we will stand fast. Palestine! Palestine! Palestine is ours.

SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE

GRADSTEIN: Faqih also does a takeoff in Hebrew of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, complete with gestures like rolling his shoulders and raising his eyebrows.

Mr. FAQIH: (Through Translator) I don't agree with that peace plan. First, we must have security. Then we can talk about peace.

GRADSTEIN: The Israeli soldiers smile and chuckle at the performance, and the tension at the checkpoint eases. For more than half an hour, Faqih continues with his impressions, of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Mr. FAQIH: (Through Translator) Oh great Iraqi people, we will defeat the invader Bush.

GRADSTEIN: A few Palestinians at the checkpoint dismiss Faqih's efforts as a waste of time, but most, like 19-year-old Akrem Lutfi(ph), say it helps make waiting at the checkpoint bearable. Lutfi says Palestinians need more humor in their lives.

Mr. AKREM LUTFI (Palestinian): They need it.

GRADSTEIN: Why?

Mr. LUTFI: Everyone need the pleasure. To continue his life. Life must go on. I have to continue my life any way I can. I have to continue it. And laughing and crying, but laughing is better than crying.

GRADSTEIN: Faqih is an underemployed actor and entertainer who scratches out a living doing his impressions at Palestinian weddings. He also imitates well-known Arab singers. Faqih speaks fluent Hebrew and watches news in both Hebrew and Arabic to update his act. He says he does his act at checkpoints at least once a week as his contribution to the Palestinian cause. Faqih says his act has also gotten him out of trouble several times. A few months ago, he says, he was on his way back from a wedding reception in East Jerusalem where he was the entertainer. He was caught at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem without a permit and, he says, the soldier took him behind a Jeep and raised his club to beat Faqih. He quickly launched into his Sharon impression and the soldier let him go. He says he's seen his act ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians at checkpoints throughout the West Bank.

Mr. FAQIH: (Through Translator) Most of the time they ease the situation and let the people across. They ...(unintelligible) with me to let the people across when I do it in this art, this comedy way.

GRADSTEIN: At Hawara, it also seems to work. The pedestrian traffic speeds up, and within minutes, the dozens of Palestinians who had been waiting for as long as two hours have crossed through. Mohammed Faqih smiles and prepares to go to another checkpoint.

Linda Gradstein, NPR News.

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