Posted on 12/06/2003 1:49:36 PM PST by yonif
Muhammad Fakih is trying to eke out a living by entertaining Palestinians as they wait at IDF checkpoints in the West Bank.
He decided to use his talent as an impressionist when he discovered that he was being forced to spend hours shuttling between his two wives in Bethlehem and Nablus.
He has become so famous among Palestinians stranded at checkpoints that some are dubbing him the "Checkpoint Entertainer." Even many soldiers have come to recognize him. Both Palestinians and soldiers sometimes ask the stonemason to imitate Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat or Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Earlier this week, Fakih, the father of seven, traveled from Nablus to his village, Marah Rabah, south of Bethlehem. On the way, he had to drive through an olive grove because the main road had been blocked by the IDF for security reasons.
Suddenly Fakih found himself surrounded by seven soldiers who were hiding under the olive trees. When one pointed his rifle at him and asked him to identify himself, Fakih responded by imitating Sharon.
"There can be no peace until the Palestinians start fighting terrorism," he barked at the stunned soldier, who called his friends to come hear the impressionist.
"I've heard about you; you're the guy who imitates Arafat and Sharon," said another soldier.
Feeling much more comfortable, Fakih pulled out a special card, bearing his picture, which identifies him as an "actor, entertainer, and impersonator of leaders."
The amused soldiers wanted to know which other Israeli leaders he could imitate. The reply came almost instantly.
Impersonating Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Fakih stated in broken Hebrew but with a thick voice: "At Wye River, we discussed ways of achieving peace with the Palestinian Authority. We stressed that Israel has security needs, and Arafat must fulfill all his obligations."
The soldiers responded with wild laughter. "He's just as good as [comedian Eli] Yatzpan," remarked one.
Fakih said he began his career in 1978, following the historic visit to Jerusalem by the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. Deeply impressed by Sadat's personality, he began imitating him in front of his friends and parents. Since then, he has been performing on local TV stations and at weddings and private events.
When Israel TV's Arabic service invited him to appear on one of its shows, he turned the offer down. "It wouldn't have looked good for me to appear on Israeli TV," he explained. "I don't want to be affiliated with the Israelis at a time when many bad things are happening."
The PA's TV station, on the other hand, has never approached him. Nor have any of its official theaters or cultural institutions.
"Unfortunately, our authority does not value this kind of art," he said. "I've never seen anyone impersonating Yasser Arafat on Palestine TV. I don't think anyone dares to do so."
Fakih's talent often helps him get through the checkpoints with almost no difficulty. Whenever he approaches a checkpoint, he gets out of the car and starts walking toward the soldiers. When they ask him to stop, he responds by imitating Sharon or Arafat, defusing the tension and drawing smiles and laughter.
On the way back from his village, Fakih ran into dozens of cars waiting in line at a checkpoint outside Tekoa. When the passengers spotted him, most got out of their cars to greet him and ask for a bit of entertainment. Many demanded that he impersonate Saddam Hussein and King Hussein.
When the soldiers noticed the crowd, they cautiously approached to see what the fuss was about. For the next few minutes, soldiers and Palestinians, in an unprecedented scene, were laughing and applauding together.
But when Fakih started impersonating Arafat by imitating his fiery call to the Palestinians to march toward Jerusalem and to sacrifice millions on the way, a young man wearing dark glasses approached him with a question: "Do you have the president's permission to do this?"
The entertainer retorted: "I'm going to see President Arafat very soon. He knows about me, and I will not hesitate to imitate him in front of him."
I'll say. Now he's got TWO Mothers-in-Law.
"Having a daily column is like being married to a nymphomaniac: It's fun for the first couple of weeks."
--Lewis Grizzard
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