This week’s Hemispheres episode featured Khaled Farrag, a Palestinian community organizer and freedom fighter.
Born in Palestine, Khaled grew up in Rama village in the upper Galilee. In 1997, he moved to Norway to study and moved back two years later. Khaled’s activism began when he refused to serve in the Israeli Army, a requirement imposed on him as a Druze male holding Israeli citizenship. He was released after a two-month sentence then moved to Jerusalem where he studied law at the Hebrew University. In 2006, he co-founded The Orient Institute, a center that helped Palestinians achieve educational and academic success. Khaled co-founded Grassroots Al-Quds in 2010, which he directed for 11 years. He is also co-founder of Urfod (refuse), a movement of Druze objectors to the army service imposed on them. Today, he leads the Public Narrative Committee, which combats the false narrative Israel promotes about the Druze in Palestine. After 24 years in Jerusalem, Khaled moved temporarily to NYC in 2022 for professional and family reasons.
Here is the episode:
