Yacoub Abu Arafeh

The band’s 1987 album, Death of the Prophet, which reflected both the hopes and anger of Palestinian youth, earned Sabreen considerable fame. The album’s 11 songs poetically expressed resistance to occupation while asserting the desire for emancipation from tradition. The contemporary band became known for its unique use of Palestinian folklore mixed with touches of jazz and rock, and propelling it into a critical musical voice for the struggle for self-determination. Abu Arafeh’s percussive expertise were central to this success.

In addition to traditional percussion, Abu Arafeh excelled at playing the electric drums. He even created a prototype drum, the handmade Arab drum set, merging Eastern percussion with other styles to achieve a distinctive sonic character.

Abu Arafeh remained actively involved with Sabreen from 1983 to 1991—the band’s peak years. During this time, Sabreen performed internationally, and even created the soundtrack for Michel Khleifi’s 1990 film, Nashid al-Hajar(Canticle of the Stones).

Although he literally had his hands full, Abu Arafeh kept learning and creating. In 1986, while art director of the Palestinian National Theatre—El-Hakawati, he created a character to help alleviate the theater’s financial troubles. Along with Fateh Azzam (then playwright, director, and mime performer, who is now an internationally renowned human rights consultant), Abu Arafeh created the character of Nakhleh Esheber, a human puppet of a boy wearing suspenders and a distinctive red beret.

After Abu Arafeh had written the script, collected the props, and advertised the newly developed character, El-Hakawati began running its first ever human puppet show amid the First Intifada in 1989, charging children only one shekel (less than 50 cents) to attend. Nakhleh Esheber, whose short legs were formed by Abu Arafeh’s hands, became such a sensation that the theater held over 70 performances in a short time. The character would soon be featured in magazines, drawing books, and other reading materials.

In 1990, Abu Arafeh received professional training in puppet-making and performing in Italy. Under the instruction of legendary actor and puppeteer Otello Sarzi, he honed his skills and achieved mastery in the art.2 Dedicated to bringing this treasured art to life and to making a difference in Palestinian society, Abu Arafeh set to work as soon as he returned to Jerusalem.

In 1991, El-Hakawati, with leading members including Abu Arafeh, launched the first Palestinian puppet festival in Jerusalem. This festival became an annual event throughout the 1990s.

The festival grew into a massive event. Each year, Jerusalemites gathered in what became known as Carnival Bab al-Amud. No less than 10,000 people attended the walking carnival, which extended from Damascus Gate to El-Hakawati theatre along Salah al-Din Street in Sheikh Jarrah. Onlookers watched with great amusement and wonder from rooftops, windows, and every street corner in East Jerusalem.

Palestinian boy and girl scouts of both Muslim and Christian denominations would take part in the popular ritual. Celebrated Palestinian intellectuals and artists made sure not to miss out.

In 1989, the Palestinian Jerusalemite theorist and educator Dr. Munir Fasheh founded the Tamer Institute for Community Education in Palestine, despite Israel’s closure of all Palestinian educational institutions during the First Intifada. And though Abu Arafeh had never liked school himself, he joined the Tamer Institute to support its campaign to foster an appreciation for reading among Palestinians.

In 1992, the campaign turned into a larger initiative known as “My Reading Passport.” The idea behind the initiative was simple: Nakhleh Esheber would travel across Palestinian towns and villages, inviting children to select books to read that would be distributed during the performance.

In the first year alone, over 10,000 reading passports were distributed to children in various schools in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus, and elsewhere. As Dr. Fasheh described in a 2021 interview:

In addition to puppeteering, Abu Arafeh taught children, mostly through storytelling, acting, and directing, at different Palestinian schools and universities, including Collège des Frères and St. Dimitri’s High School in Jerusalem, as well as Bethlehem University. He also contributed to theater and music projects with the East Jerusalem Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Rozana Association for Rural Tourism, and Siwar Association for Culture and Arts.

Beyond education, he held prominent acting roles in notable theatrical productions. In 1990, he acted in Rihlat al-bahth ‘an Umar al-Khayyam (In Search of Omar al-Khayyam), produced by El-Hakawati and directed by the late François Abu Salem. Drawing on historical Arab figures, the play explored contemporary political realities.

Another play in which Abu Arafeh held an esteemed role was The Gulf between Us, written by English playwright Trevor Griffiths in the aftermath of the Gulf War. The cast of Palestinian and British actors played characters trapped on the outskirts of an unnamed Arab city at war. The play premiered in Leeds in 1991.

Alongside Nakhleh Esheber, Abu Arafeh created several other characters, including Captain Yacov, an Israeli intelligence officer who started to promote human rights only after his retirement.

Abu Arafeh’s different characters were so popular in Jerusalem, he explained, that sometimes people in the street would call him by different character names, though Nakhleh Esheber was undoubtedly the most popular.

Older Jerusalemites who adored Nakhleh Esheber as children have watched their own children grow fond of him, “and it is likely that their grandchildren are also getting to know him,” says Imad Muna, owner of the famous Educational Bookshop on Salah al-Din Street in Jerusalem (see Palestinian Narratives Silenced: The Story behind Israel’s Bookstore Raids). Muna adds that Abu Arafeh has established himself as a popular figure. While most people know him as a member of Sabreen and through his school programs, he is most widely known for the puppet character Nakhleh Esheber.4

In 1999, the Nakhleh Esheber Institute opened in Sheikh Jarrah in the workshop where Abu Arafeh once repaired washing machines. As general director, Abu Arafeh turned the institute into a space for teaching and learning performance arts, including theater, puppetry, and music; the institute also produces plays and supports music initiatives. Different schools, such as Rawdat al-Zuhur (see Elizabeth Nasir), and youth groups, like the musical band Kharbasheh, have used the space to develop their talents under the guidance and instruction of Abu Arafeh and other artists.

Almasa Abu Sneineh, social worker, rising theater actress, and percussionist with several performances under her belt, has acted alongside Nakhleh Esheber in several productions. She owes her passion for the performing arts to Abu Arafeh’s mentorship.

Besides her theater performances, including ‘Itmeh (Darkness), written by Emile Saba and directed by Abu Arefeh in 2025, Abu Sneineh is also a percussionist in a music group created in 2025, officially sponsored by the Nakhleh Esheber Institute. The group is called TaraTaka, and it includes Issam Murad (distinguished recording engineer and drummer), Wissam Murad (talented oud player and singer), Abu Arafeh on percussion, and Murad Khouri on the violin.

Abu Arafeh is among hundreds of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah facing the threat of forcible expulsion from his home by Israeli forces. For nearly 50 years, he and his family have been embroiled in legal battles in Israeli courts to assert ownership over their home. As with other families in Sheikh Jarrah whose homes were under Jordanian and UNRWA custodianship prior to 1967, the Abu Arafeh family are in an ongoing battle against Israeli settlers, represented by settler organizations, who are laying claim to their property (see Israeli Courts Order More than 50 Palestinians Expelled from Homes in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah and Sheikh Jarrah: A Struggle for Survival).

Abu Arafeh has been an active member of the Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinians’ Rights in Jerusalem, advocating and campaigning for the rights of Palestinian Jerusalemites to remain in their homes. In one of the several interviews conducted with him about the situation, he stressed: “Sheikh Jarrah is my heart and soul.”5

Guided by unquenchable curiosity and a deep sense of purpose, Abu Arafeh approaches every endeavor with the same tenacity, patience, and passion that defines his bond with Jerusalem and the arts. “I don’t make art for the sake of art; I do it for the service of community,” he explains. There are “countless artists out there,” he begins again, but in Jerusalem, his work stands out differently because “the need is strong.”

The mark that Yacoub Abu Arafeh has left on Jerusalem is evident. His work has been endorsed by eminent personalities, such as the former queen Noor al-Hussein of Jordan, and he has been invited to countless local, regional, and international festivals.

Several renowned Palestinians have also spoken of his enduring influence, including Ahed Izhiman, the contemporary artist known for his conceptual painting and photography, who shared in an interview that his first exposure to the arts at the age of four was a performance of Nakhleh Esheber. Watching that performance, he explained, was transformative for him. He still recalls how happy he felt during the performance and how he and the other children watched Nakhleh tell stories drawn from their own lives.6

Abu Arafeh’s love for knowledge and performance is boundless, which is why he always saw structured education as limited and limiting. For him, diplomas have corners and therefore are not outside the box. “Maybe if they looked different,” he smiles, “I’d give them a second thought.”

Aghazarian, Arda. “Creator of Long-Beloved Children’s Puppet among Hundreds Facing Expulsion in Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood.” Jerusalem Story, March 4, 2022.

Amiry, Suad, and Amy Horowitz. “Smithsonian Jerusalem Project: Palestinian Music.” Jerusalem Quarterly, no. 3 (Winter 1999): 40–43.

“The Case of Sheikh Jarrah.” UNOCHA, updated version, October 2010.

“The Jerusalem Program and Its People: Artist Yacoub Abu Arafeh.” [In Arabic.] Palestine TV, March 1, 2025.

Sammartano, Antonietta. “Otello Sarzi.” World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts, 2009.

“A Talk with Munir Fasheh.” [In Arabic.] Manhajiyyat, no. 3 (Winter 2021).

“Yacoub Abu Arafeh to Al Mayadeen Net: A Meeting That Connects Us in Sheikh Jarrah.” [In Arabic.] Al Mayadeen Channel. May 21, 2021.

[Profile photo: Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story ]