Ahmad Kaabour, the Lebanese artist whose music left an impressure on political and cultural memory amid the shadow of the Lebanese Civil War, has passed away.
Ahmad Kaabour, the Lebanese musician, composer, and actor who set the “Ounadikom” (I call to you) of Palestinian poet Tawfiq Ziad to music, passed away as his family announced on Thursday.
Kaabour, whose father was “Mahmoud Al Rashidi”, one of the first violin players in Lebanon, was born in Beirut in 1955. In the atmosphere of during the outbreak of Lebanese Civil War in 1975, in a city like Beirut that was constantly under attack, he composed and sang his first song “Ounadikom”, poem of the Palestinian poet Tawfiq Ziad.
In 1978, he enrolled in the Theater Department at the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Lebanon and graduated with a degree in theater.
Kaabour established people’s committees to support his fellow citizens during the Civil War. In this atmosphere of resistance that he gifted the world with his most enduring legacy, “Ounadikom”. While songs like “They Called Me a Refugee”, “Pulse of the West Bank”, and “O Lovers of the Land, Come Forth” gave voice to the resistance of victims of war and displacement.
Throughout his career, Kaabour produced works dedicated to Palestine and the Palestinian cause.
Musical and theatral performances
Starting from 1975, Ahmad Kaabour revived hundreds of concerts and theatres in cultural, educational, and social committees. He is also known by his works of children’s theatre, such as “Lebanese Puppet Theater”. Kaabour also stood out in his acting career, portraying Wadih Haddad, one of the leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the film “Carlos”.
According to the information on his website, he performed musical shows in many Lebanese and international festivals, including the Beiteddine Festival, Anjar, Beirut. He also took performances on programs like Future TV.
He also performed concerts lately, titled “Peace to the Children of Gaza” at Beirut Arab University in 2023 and “Gaza’s Sounds of Resistance” at the Al Balad Theater in 2025.
His works; included the themes of resistance, Palestinian tragedy, forced displacement, war, exile, identity, and loss, still carry the mourning and resistance across generations.
Resource: The New Arab, L’Orient Today, www.ahmadkaabour.net
