 In addition to his native Arabic, Zwaiter spoke French, Italian, and English.During his time in Italy, Zwaiter was in the process of translating "One Thousand and One Nights" from Arabic into Italian, but according to Emily Jacir, he never completed this.Zwaiter was held for questioning by Italian police in August 1972 in relation to a bombing by the group Black September against an oil refinery, but was later released.