The Freedom Theatre, Community theatre in Jenin refugee camp, West Bank

The Freedom Theatre is a theatre in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, with a stage, rehearsal rooms, and classroom spaces. It serves the local community as a place for performances, training, and artistic work.

The theatre was founded in 2006 after an earlier theatrical project in the camp was destroyed during the Israeli military incursion of 2002. The reopening made it possible to resume artistic work after several years without a dedicated space.

The theatre offers young people from the camp training in acting and stage techniques through a structured program. The productions that come out of this work are built around the stories of the people who live there.

Before visiting, it is worth checking the current program and access conditions, as these can change depending on the situation on the ground. The Jenin camp is in the northern West Bank and is reached through the city of Jenin.

Juliano Mer Khamis was the son of Arna Mer Khamis, the Israeli activist who founded the camp's Stone Theatre in the 1980s; he was not Swedish-Palestinian and did not grow up in the camp. Zakaria Zubeidi, a former Stone Theatre student, proposed the drama project to him, and Swedish activist Jonatan Stanczak joined them in opening the theatre in 2006. Mer Khamis was shot by a masked gunman near the theatre on 4 April 2011; the murder remains unsolved.