Post by Fr David Neuhaus SJ | 31 December 2025
Mohammad Bakri, one of the most accomplished Palestinian actors and directors, passed away on Christmas eve, December 24, 2025. An Israeli citizen, born in the Galilee in 1953, has was a courageous voice against conquest.
Among his most notable appearances were his role in the Israeli movie Beyond the Walls, telling the story of prisoners in a high security Israeli prison (Jews from Arab countries and Palestinians) rising up against the Ashkenazi jailers. His one-man performances in Arabic and in Hebrew of Christian Palestinian citizen of Israel Emil Habbibi’s classic The Pessoptimist were a platform to underline the identity and dilemmas of the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel.
Is 2002 documentary Jenin, Jenin described, through interviews, the Israeli onslaught on the Palestinian town of Jenin. The film has been repeatedly banned in Israel. The scenes of destruction and the voices of desperation from the film are a prefiguration of what we have seen in Gaza since October 2023.
You can view the film here:
His last film, All That is Left of You (2025) was released recently. View the trailer:
Three of Bakri’s six children, Adam, Saleh and Ziad, have followed in their father’s footsteps and are actors too.