Amel Younis got into rowing when he was young, thanks to the influence of older family members. He was born in the U.S., went to high school in Worcester and has Palestinian family roots.
But he never came across another Palestinian rower who wasn't a family member until he was a senior in college at Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania.
"And then this freshman came, Zack. And everyone was like, 'Dude, have you met Zack? He's Palestinian.' I was, like, what?" Younis recalled. "Instantly, we were brothers."
Zack Ghalayini turned out to be an older brother of his current teammate, Ryan Ghalayini, whose family on his dad's side is from Gaza. This weekend, Younis and Ghalayini will compete at the Head of the Charles Regatta in the men's championship doubles. According to the duo, it will be the first time there's been a shell at the regatta that has had an all-Palestinian crew representing the Palestine Sailing and Rowing Federation.
Ghalayini said it will be amazing for his family to see.
"Any strength I can give to my family in Gaza is strength to me," he said.
The turmoil in Gaza in recent years has been impossible to ignore. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed there after Israel began military operations in response to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. An independent United Nations commission found last year that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza (Israel rejects the finding).
The devastation in Gaza has had a profound impact on the duo.
"The Olympic year — because I was trying to qualify for the Olympics in 2024 — was by far the most depressed I'd ever been in my life," said Younis. "It was like training through a nightmare."
Ghalayini's family has been directly impacted by the conflict.
"Sadly, a lot of our family was killed and a lot of them we lost contact with," he said. "But, very few were able to escape to their surrounding countries."
That destruction also had a major impact on the Palestine Sailing and Rowing Federation, which was based in Gaza.
Mark Gerban, who is based in Germany, is team manager for the federation and was Palestine's first rower at a senior world championship.
He recalls getting an email from a member of the federation in Gaza, who told him that no one was safe there. The sender requested that if Gerban didn't hear back from them soon that he do what was required to keep the federation active.
"We've been very lucky that the core people I've worked with, they've gotten out or they're at least safe. I won't say that they're always in the clear, but at least they managed for three years in a very tough situation," Gerban said. "And to hear people who are literally willing to give their lives up for representation is a very powerful thing."
The blades on the ends of the oars Younis uses are painted red, black, white and green in the colors of the Palestinian flag. Those are stored at the Riverside Boat Club in Cambridge, which is where Younis and Ghalayini can be found as they go through a grueling training schedule, six days a week.
Younis said the club has been supportive of him as he's rowed for Palestine. But not everyone else has.
"The boat house had gotten messages of, like, that he needs to get rid of his oars," he said. "Like, he can't be rowing with Palestinian oars."
Ghalayini moved here earlier this year to join Younis. They have already represented Palestine together at the World Rowing Championships and Asian Games.
When Ghalayini was introduced to the team and it was his first time rowing for Palestine, Younis posted about it on Facebook.
"My aunts texted me immediately and said, 'We have cousins in Gaza who found your post and are like super proud of you. It really, like gives them strength,'" Ghalayini said. "After hearing something like that, it's like, well, this is my purpose in life. Just to live vicariously for them."
Younis is a veteran of the Head of the Charles and has been rowing for Palestine since 2022. He first rowed for Palestine at the regatta in 2024. But the duo have bigger plans in mind: the Olympics in 2028. That's a stage they say no Palestinian rower has ever been to.
"This is my last chapter. Like, I'm rowing for two years and then I'm gonna retire," Younis said. "But, like, Ryan and I understand that this is bigger than either of our egos. And like if one of us goes, we both go."
Since he started rowing for Palestine, Younis has gotten messages from Palestinian rowers in England and Egypt, Canada and California. That's a far cry from his early days in the sport.
"I was like, 'I didn't even know there were this many Palestinian rowers,'" Younis said. "But they like saw a Palestinian rower row for Palestine and they were like, 'Holy s***, like, maybe I could do that, too. I didn't know that was a thing.'"
The goal is to continue growing the sport for Palestinians. But for now, getting to represent Palestine on the water is its own kind of victory for these two rowers who have forged a brotherhood on a boat.
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