I was heartened to see the Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land win for best documentary feature at last night’s 97th Academy Awards.
The film follows the struggles of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank community of Masafer Yatta to stay on their land amid home demolitions by the Israeli military and violent attacks by Jewish settlers aimed at expelling them.
The film was made by a team of Palestinian-Israeli filmmakers, including the Palestinian journalist Basel Adra, who lives in Masafer Yatta, and the Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, both of whom are prominently featured in the film.
Following is a segment from Democracy Now! highlighting Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham speaking at the Academy Awards ceremony after the announcement of their win.
Said Basel Adra:
Thank you to the Academy for the award. It’s such a big honor for the four of us [Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor] and everybody who supported us for this documentary.
About two months ago I became a father and my hope to my daughter [is] that she will not have to live the same life I am living now. Always fearing. Always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements that my community Musafer Yatta is living and facing every day under Israeli occupation.
No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist, as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.
Said Yuval Abraham:
We made this. We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together, our voices are stronger. We see each other, the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.
When I look at Basel, I see my brother. But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law, and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control. There is a different path. A political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.
And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. And you know: why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe. There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living. There is no other way. Thank you.
Last month Basel Adra was interviewed by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and Juan González. It’s a well-worth watching segment and one that features No Other Land’s trailer in the first five minutes.
Related Off-site Links:
No Other Land, an Israeli-Palestinian Collaboration, Wins Oscar for Best Documentary – Hannah Schoenbaum (AP News, March 2, 2025).
No Other Land Directors Criticise U.S. as They Accept Documentary Oscar: “U.S. Foreign Policy Is Helping Block the Path” to Peace – Benjamin Lee (The Guardian, March 3, 2025).
Palestinians Hope No Other Land Oscar Win Brings Help as They Face Possible Israeli Expulsion – Sam McNeil (AP News, March 3, 2025).
Oscars 2025: No Politics, No Sparkle, No Courage – Until the Winners Spoke Up – Coleman Spilde (Salon, March 3, 2025).
Movie Review: No Other Land Is a Shocking Look at Palestinian Life Under Occupation – Mark Kennedy (AP News, February 5, 2025).
See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• “Nothing About Today is ‘Unprovoked’”
• Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
• Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
• Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
• Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
• Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
• Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
• Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
• Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• “A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
• “This Is a Genocidal Project”
• Outrage and Despair
• Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on Israel’s and the West’s Ongoing Gaza Genocide
• Judith Butler on the Ongoing Student Protests Against the Gaza Genocide
• Kyle Kulinski: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2024
• Something to Think About – June 28, 2024
• Nina Turner: Quote of the Day – July 24, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: “We Can Never Give Up Hope”
• John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
• Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
• Breaking Down Kamala Harris’s DNC Speech on Gaza
• Yousef Munayyer: Quote of the Day – August 30, 2024
• “It’s a Systematic Slaughter That We’re Funding”
• Protesting Weapons Manufacturer and Genocide Enabler General Dynamics
• Something to Think About – September 26, 2024
• “A Year of War Against Children”
• Anti-Genocide Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Reflects on the First Anniversary of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
• Liam Cosgrove Confronts U.S. State Department Spin Doctor Matthew Miller: “People Are Sick of the Bullshit”
• “This Is a Tragic, Heartbreaking Moment in the History of Humanity”
• Progressive Perspectives on Kamala Harris’ Faltering Presidential Campaign
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Presidential Election
• Hope and Courage – Christmas 2024
• Chris Hedges: “Israel Has No Intention of Halting Its Merry-Go-Round of Death”
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Caitlin Johnstone: Quote of the Day – January 22, 2025
• Butch Ware: Quote of the Day – January 30, 2025
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
• Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
• Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
• For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
• Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
• David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014
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