It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of our comrade and friend Ahmad Jaradat on Sunday, June 7. Connie Hackbarth pays tribute to him in this article. She was Executive Director of the Alternative Information Centre (AIC) in Jerusalem, where she worked alongside Ahmad Jaradat for seventeen years.
It has taken me a week to gather my thoughts, to get over the initial shock of your death. I cannot do you justice in this writing, but I hope it’s a start.
I’m still in shock, crying, disbelief.
I worked alongside you for 17 years at the Alternative Information Centre (AIC). You were my comrade and my friend. And from the first day, you did something I will never forget.
You introduced me to Palestinians—openly, with pride, and with a deep knowledge of the political importance of those meetings. You didn’t just say my name. You presented me as someone worth knowing, worth trusting. You took risks doing that. I know that those introductions weren’t easy. You dealt with never-ending negative repercussions because of our work together. You didn’t complain. You just kept introducing me.
I remember attending a World Social Forum event together in Morocco. Even there—especially there—you introduced me to Arabs from numerous countries. You insisted that I be included in your discussions, your coffees, and your outings with them. Not as an afterthought. As someone who belonged at the table.
Ahmad, you knew what was important in life: people. Real people. You taught me the extreme pleasure of sitting with a good cup of coffee (and how to make it properly), talking politics by a heater on a freezing winter morning. You taught me the beauty of Hebron, of Sair—the people there, the incredible resistance, the food. Hebron is among my favourite places in the world now, because of you.
You were so proud of your children. You wanted only what was best for them, even when it meant leaving Palestine for a short or even long period.
You stayed true to your political beliefs even when it was difficult. Especially when it was difficult. I saw how hard you worked—long-term organizing I will never fully comprehend. You were instrumental in creating two joint Palestinian-Israeli conferences in Hebron, with hundreds of people. Bringing Israelis openly into Hebron required enormous political work and courage. That work succeeded greatly thanks to you, to the other Palestinian comrades at the AIC, and to progressive Palestinian activists in Hebron. You never made it look easy, but you also never stopped.
So many international activists—from Europe, from the US—were lucky enough to come through the AIC. For so many of them, you were an essential part of their time in Palestine. You helped introduce them to Palestine: to the situation on the ground, and to what justice and hope and real peace look like. Not abstract peace. The real, difficult, daily kind. You had acceptance and understanding for people from everywhere.
And your smile. The genuine excitement in your voice when we spoke or met. You always made me feel you were happy to see me.
I had the honour, the privilege, and the joy of being alongside you for 17 years. That is the truth. The AIC was and still is the most important place in the world for me. You were a huge reason why.
My heart breaks that we failed. I’m sorry you had to experience such unimaginable horrors in these past years. We continued to struggle on this side of the line but failed and fail.
I can’t believe you’re gone. You will always be in my heart, but that isn’t enough. I wish I could have one more coffee with you. One more talk by the heater.
To your children: your father was a person who made bridges with his own hands, at his own cost. He loved you. He wanted only what was best for you. I hope you know that. I hope you can feel how many people across the world are grieving him—not as an idea, but as the man who introduced them to each other, and to Palestine itself.
To your family: thank you for sharing him with the world.
Ahmad, my comrade, my friend. You will always be in my heart. But that isn’t enough. Thank you so much for everything.
