Ibrahim Miari

Ibrahim Miari (in Arabic,إبراهيم مياري ; born 1975 in Akko) is an Israeli-Arab peace activist, playwright and actor.Currently Miari is an M.F.A candidate in Theater Education and Directing at Boston University 2009.

Background

Ibrahim Miari was born to a mother of Yemenite Jewish origin and a Palestinian father,he is an Arab-Israeli actor who hails from the northern city of Akko (Acre),a city known for its higher percentage of non-Jews than many other cities in the state of Israel. Miari's mother converted to Islam upon her marriage and he was raised a Muslim. He graduated from the Western Galilee College in 1997 and the Acco Theatre Center's Actor Training Program in 1999.

Career

Miari is a member of the Akko Theater, who together with Israeli actress Meirav Kupperberg co-wrote and starred in a new play entitled "Blood Relative", which they have taken to San Francisco and Berkeley, California.The play tells the story of a young man who is born to an Israeli mother and a Palestinian father. Which was a semi biography based on Miari's life and experiences with his own torn identity.Torn apart by unending conflict, he embarked on a journey through the collective memory of the Middle East. Since 1996, Ibrahim has also been performing folkloric and sacred dances and acting in various commercials and short films. Ibrahim is the director of a drama program at Peace Camp Canada and Peace Camp Boston with high school age Israeli and Palestinian youth.

Acting Credits

• Arabic Dream,
• Tower or Babble,
• Kohelet (in Germany and Austria 1999)
• The Lioness (a solo show)
• Akko 2000 in the Scope of Time,
• Prayer,(performed in Turkey, Vienna, New York City, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe)
• Wedding Night (at the 2000 Israel Festival in Jerusalem)
• Landscapes (an international collaboration at Germany's 2002 Manheim Festival)
• Dibu & Naoje (a play for children)

Identity

Much of Miari's work is based on the Middle East conflict and his own split identity of his Jewish and Arab heritage, in an interview Miari told The Jerusalem Post "My ancestors are from Palestine so I'm a Palestinian," going on to explain "But I'm still an Israeli citizen and it's such a sensitive issue in Israel." Miari says if he mentions that he's an Israeli citizen, Palestinians demand to know how he can deny his Palestinian side. On the flip side, if he says he's a Palestinian, Israelis ask him if he's willing to give up his Israeli passport. In explanation to this he said "I didn't choose to be born in this country," and going on further to state "I am an Arab, Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli, but I am also exactly what I say in the play; "I am a human being."