A composer, singer and oud (Arabic lute) player, Khalifa is considered a Palestinian among the Palestinians, a Southerner among the South Lebanese and most commonly an Arab musician. From went to and taught at the Beirut National conservatory.
In 1972 he created a musical group in his native village with the goal of reviving its musical heritage and the Arabic chorale. The first performances took place in Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war in 1975. During the war, he risked his life in bombed out concert halls.
The Al Mayadeen Ensemble was created in 1976 and became famous all over the world for songs such as Ummi (My Mother), Rita w’al-Bundaqiya (Rita and the Rifle) and Jawaz al-Safr (Passport), based on Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry.
In 1999 he was granted the Palestine Award for Music. In turn, he contributed the financial portion of the award to the National Conservatory of Music at Birzeit University in Palestine. In 2005, Khalifa was named a UNESCO Artist for peace for his support for the work of the United Nations agency, UNESCO.
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