Rock and resistance: Adam Elara on the power of punk in advocating for the Palestinian cause

The Palestinian cause and punk rock have a lot in common — they are often viewed by wealthy, Western, white conservatives as rebellious movements.

And they are also movements that have found global love and support.

So, it’s only natural that at some point, some rock musician somewhere would find a way to rock out about Palestine.

Enter Los Angeles-based American-Yemeni-Pakistani-Afghan punk rock musician, actor, and comic book maker Adam Elara, whose latest single, Watermelon Kickflip, is a mash-up of punk rock and, wait for it, Palestinian dabke.

Adam says he released Watermelon Kickflip at a very specific point in time, when he noticed that burnout was starting to become real, following months and months of Americans protesting for Palestine.

He hoped the track would reignite listeners and strengthen their resolve to continue standing up for Palestine.

Known to be an avid skateboarder, Adam tells The New Arab, “‘Watermelon’ refers to Palestine, while ‘kickflip’ refers to a skateboarding trick.”

“The title we just wanted the most obvious way to say what the song is, it’s a collision between Arabi and Western stuff and having it called watermelon, it’s like a code name, rather than calling it the Intifada or something! Because you can't even say Palestine now on social media, so we were like, ‘Alright, this is our way around it’ and everyone who knows, know what we’re talking about.

“And then just being unapologetic in the song. The inspiration came from us combining the skating element of it with a social justice cause,” Adam adds.

Fusing punk rock with Arabic beats

Adam regards his music as genre-fluid, but there is no denying that when listening to Watermelon Kickflip, it sounds like what I imagine punk rock bands like Blink-182 or Sum 41 would sound like if they rocked out in Arabic.

I tell Adam it is the genre I never knew I needed.

“When you listen to Blink-182 and Sum 41, they're singing with a bit of an accent.

“So, for my music, we tried to craft that same accent in Arabic. Arabic is very tricky; if you stretch the words too far, it changes the meaning.

“We created this accent and sang it in a way that still conveyed what we were trying to say, and we’ve honestly never heard Arabic sung this way before either,” he shares.

“In the process of writing the lyrics, there are some phrases that work really well in Arabic that don't necessarily translate in English.

“So rather than create an international version that’s all in English or a version in Arabic just for the Arab region, we were cognizant of that specificity.

“There's one part where I referenced David and Goliath, and it just didn't hit the same in English.”

“Some people were like, ‘What is this accent?’ I was like, ‘Just trust me, I know what I'm doing!’

"Because if I did it in a traditional pronunciation, it wouldn't sound right,” Adam laughs.

Like so many of us, Adam is something of a third-culture kid, having lived between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and America, and it has influenced his music.

His musical journey began in the eighth grade, when his uncle promised to buy him a guitar if he memorised the Qur’anic chapter Surah Ar-Rahman — which he did — and he taught himself not only how to play bass but also the piano.

Throughout his education, he attended theatre programs and now has careers in both acting and music.

He cites bands like Blink-182, Queen, and Linkin Park as some of his musical influences, as well as Pakistani music composer A. R. Rahman, Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf, and Moroccan superstar Cheb Khaled.

“As a child, when I would hear Cheb Khaled’s music, he had so many different influences in it — between Moroccan artistry, Arabic music, Amazigh music, and Western and French music.

“He was already mixing a bunch of different stuff together, and hearing that at a young age put something in my head,” he says.

Adam adds, “The many different parts of my cultural identity manifest into what I do with my music; I'm always combining stuff and seeing how it turns out.”

The cost of speaking about Palestine

As an actor breaking out in Hollywood, I ask whether his vocalness on Palestine has resulted in any pushback.

He says while it has, now is not the time to be silent, and he has been bolstered by the support of other protesters in the Arab community in California.

He has been joining thousands of protesters in Irvine, Long Island, and Orange County and says the huge show of support for Palestine is heartening.

“When you make anything about Palestine, people will get upset with you.

“I was never really silent, but never really loud this way either.

“So, it's been nice to be able to use music to talk about a cause that I really care about,” he says.

Adam adds, “It does come with challenges. In America, there is a huge amount of power that's retained by Zionists.

“Having to even do something as simple as play shows in Los Angeles has been very difficult.

“Your career is going to get hurt, but I feel better knowing that my career isn't built on selling my own people out or being complicit in this genocide and contributing to a negative environment.

“It is difficult.”

Skating for change

Adam is part Yemeni and part Afghan, two countries that over the last two decades have been devastated by war and invasions by external aggressors.

I wonder whether these parts of his identity have resulted in a special connectedness between him and Palestinians.

“Of course it does,” he tells me.

“My whole childhood was just watching this happen (the US invasion of Afghanistan) with no consequence, and the people that are left in Afghanistan with the fallout of the US leaving — knowing I can’t go back to see where my people are from, it’s heartbreaking.

“I can’t even remember the last time I was able to go to Yemen. Knowing that part of you, there’s survivor’s guilt.

“With Palestine, you just can't help but feel a connection. Obviously, it’s a bit of a different situation, but there is a lot of camaraderie that I feel.

“If anybody in the world gets what we go through and have gone through, it's them,” Adam explains.

One of the biggest reveals from Adam is the support for Palestine within the skateboarding community, which he attributes to skateboarding being part of alternative culture.

In fact, several weeks ago, Adam teamed up with the Gaza Skate Team to produce a music video for Watermelon Kickflip, in which they show what it was like to skate in Gaza pre-October 7 and what it has become now.

He says he has been trying his best to keep Palestinians at the forefront of everything he does, and for that reason, he did not make a traditional music video.

“I have a skateboard that has a Palestine flag deck now, and every time I take it out, people are like, ‘Oh, that's so cool. Where'd you get that?’ and ask me questions.

“But for the most part, I think because skating is a counterculture activity, it seems to be the case with people that are into alternatives — whether it’s music or sports.

“It's very rare that we're coming across like Zionists at the skate park!”

Adam Elara’s music is available on Spotify, Apple Tunes, Anghami and more. All proceeds from the Palestine merchandise on his website goes to the Palestine Children Relief’s Fund.

Yousra Samir Imran is a British Egyptian writer and author based in Yorkshire. She is the author of Hijab and Red Lipstick, published by Hashtag Press

Follow her on X: @UNDERYOURABAYA