Juliano Mer-Khamis (Hebrew: ג'וליאנו מֵר ח'מיס; Arabic: جوليانو مير خميس‎; born Juliano Khamis; 29 May 1958 – 4 April 2011) was an Israeli Jewish/Palestinian Arab actor, director, filmmaker, and political activist of Jewish and native Palestinian Eastern Orthodox Christian parentage. On 4 April 2011, he was assassinated by a masked gunman in the Palestinian city of Jenin, where he established The Freedom Theatre.

Biography

Juliano Khamis (later Mer-Khamis) was born in Nazareth, the son of Arna Mer-Khamis, a
former Palmach combatant who had turned communist on experiencing disenchantment with Zionism after participating in operations to drive the Bedouin out of parts of the Negev, and Saliba Khamis, an Israeli Arab of Eastern Orthodox Palestinian Christian descent who was an intellectual as well as one of the leaders of the Israeli Communist Party in the 1950s. He was called Sputnik Khamas at birth. He had two brothers, Spartacus and Abir. His maternal grandfather was Gideon Mer, a scientist who pioneered the study of malaria during the British Mandate.
His father abandoned their household when he was 10 years old. He attended school in Haifa.
His cousin is Palestinian hip-hop singer Shadia Mansour.