The word “hipster” might be officially dead in Seattle, but not in, say, Haifa, where a subculture of young Palestinians is steadily forming around bars and parties that promote (create spaces for) a liberal or progressive (rather than traditional) social ethic.

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...