Ghassan Kanafani Exposes Endless Pain in Palestine & Israel

by K. Marguerite Caronna

Golden Thread Productions courageously dedicates their season to Palestine. In its West Coast Premiere, their opening play “Returning to Haifa” examines the personal tragedy of a war and occupation that have continued in the Middle East for decades.

Director Samer Al-Saber delivers a reminder of the longevity of loss. Naomi Wallace and Ismail Khalidi have adapted the script from a story by Ghassan Kanafani.

A Palestinian couple, Said and Safiyaa (Lijesh Krishnan and Amal Bisharat), argue about returning to visit their former home in Haifa.  It’s 1968, twenty years since the 1948 Israeli war, the Catastrophe, that forced them from their home and community.

The border finally opens, but should they  revisit the past? Carlos Aceves’ functional set evokes a domestic Palestinian home, both present and past, complete with artifacts and clotheslines.

Present day Said and Safiyaa are accompanied by their younger selves (Diala Al-Abed and Jacob Henrie-Naffaa) on their journey to Israel.  As the play progresses, the younger couple re-enact their young love. At first, it takes a few beats to realize the “younger” couple represent the present couple in the past.

Two decades ago, the horrors of their displacement forced them to leave their infant son behind in Haifa.

When they return to their former home, the house is much as they left it. A beautiful heirloom Syrian tapestry still hangs on the wall. A treasured vase with peacock feathers, a gift from Said’s sister, still occupies a shelf. The rusty lock still hangs on the iron gate. These domestic artifacts take on new meaning.

Yet, they find a Jewish woman called Miriam (Michelle Navarrete) and her son living in their house. Miriam is also a victim of devastation not of her making. She has lost her family at Auschwitz and made her way to Israel via refugee camps. She was granted the house … and the abandoned infant son.

A tense confrontation ensues. Both the Palestinians and Miriam are victims of forces larger than their personal existences. Questions arise: What is home? Who gets to claim it?

As Miriam exits to bring the now grown son, Said and Safiyaa have a few moments of hopeful fantasy. They relish an imagined joyful reunion with their son.

When Dov (Jacob Henrie-Naffaa) enters in Israeli military uniform, the couple suffer a second loss. Dov treats them with disdain and blame, acknowledging Miriam as his true mother. There is no question where his loyalties lie.

Said and Dov argue. Said takes a line from Khalidi and exhorts Dov: “The greatest crime any human being can commit is to believe, even for one moment, that the weakness or mistakes of others gives him the right to exist at their expense.”

A truth that can come from any headline, any time.

Dov’s swaggering arrogance reduces the part to a caricature, diminishing the humanity of an otherwise heartrending situation.

In a protracted conflict, who can claim a home and, by extension, family? Can this domestic conflict be resolved? Can the wider conflict be resolved? Is there any “winning”?

 

“Returning to Haifa” –based on the novella by Ghassan Kanafani, adapted for the stage by Naomi Wallace and Ismail Khalidi, directed by Samer Al-Saber, scenic design by Carlos Aceves, props by Samantha Alexa, lighting by Cassie Barnes, costumes by Madeline Berger, sound by Derek Schmidt.

Golden Thread Productions, at Potrero Stage, San Francisco. Info: goldenthread.org – to May 4, 2024.

Cast: Diala Al-Abed, Amal Bisharat, Jacob Henrie-Naffaa, Lijesh Krishnan, and Michelle Navarrete.

Banner photo: Amal Bisharat and Lijesh Krishnan.  Photos: Najib Joe Hakim