Israeli director Yuval Abraham, descendant of Holocaust survivors, accused of anti-Semitism
Yuval Abraham, Jewish, Israeli, denounces “
apartheid
” in the occupied West Bank.
His film
No Other Land
,
co
-directed with other Palestinian and Israeli activists, has just won an award in Berlin.
It won the award for best documentary.
This peace activist has since been the target of the Israeli extreme right.
Palestinian Basel Adra and Israeli Yuval Abraham receive the documentary prize for “No other land” at the Berlin International Film Festival, Saturday February 24, 2024. AP - Markus Schreiber
By: Sami Boukhelifa Follow
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From our correspondent in Jerusalem
,
When receiving his prize, Yuval Abraham took the stage with his Palestinian co-director Basel Adra.
Yuval Abraham gives this speech.
“
We are standing here, in front of you.
With Basel, we are the same age.
I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian.
In two days, we will return to a land where we are not equal.
I live under a civil law regime.
Basel lives under a regime of military law.
We live half an hour from each other, but I have the right to vote and Basel does not.
I am free to move as I want on this land, but Basel, like millions of Palestinians, is locked in the occupied West Bank.
This situation of apartheid between us, this injustice, must end
.”
Several German politicians cry “anti-Semitism”
This speech is described as “
anti-Semitic
” by Israeli public television.
And in Berlin, where it was pronounced, the German authorities consider it “
unacceptable
”.
Notably the mayor of Berlin.
“
Anti-Semitism has no place in Berlin, and this also applies to the art scene.
I expect the new management of the Berlinale to ensure that such incidents do not happen again
,” responded Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner.
So, it was a gesture in the Berlinale that it fell, and it was an untragbare relationship.
In Berlin hat Antisemitismus keinen Platz, and das gilt auch für die Kunstszene.
Ich erwarte von der neuen Leitung der Berlinale, sicherzustellen, dass sich chelle Vorfälle nicht wiederholen.
— Kai Wegner (@kaiwegner) February 25, 2024
Since then, Yuval Abraham has received death threats.
He had to cancel his return flight to Israel.
Israeli far-right activists went to his family home.
His family members were also threatened, and had to flee to another Israeli city.
Despite these pressures, the young director remains straight in his boots.
He says “
take responsibility for each of his words
”.
He points out the irresponsibility of the Israeli media.
And the exploitation of his remarks by German politicians whose aim, according to him, is “
to silence all criticism of Israel
”.
The spokesperson for the German government says “
it is unacceptable that the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 was not mentioned
” during the speech at the Berlinale.
Our film “No Other Land” on occupied Masafer Yatta's brutal expulsion won best documentary in Berlinale.
Israel's channel 11 aired this 30 second segment from my speech, insanely called it “anti semitic” - and I've been receiving death threats since.
I stand behind every word.
pic.twitter.com/2burPfZeKO
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) February 25, 2024
Read alsoGaza: Israeli shots kill around a hundred people on the sidelines of a humanitarian distribution, according to Hamas
Death threats
“
What audacity
,” protests Yuval Abraham on his X account (formerly Twitter).
“
Being accused of anti-Semitism by German politicians, when you have a grandmother born in a concentration camp, and when you lost part of your family exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust, is scandalous
.”
A right-wing Israeli mob came to my family's home yesterday to search for me, threatening close family members who fled to another town in the middle of the night.
I am still getting death threats and had to cancel my flight home.
This happened after Israeli media and German…
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) February 27, 2024
Yuval Abraham also says he is worried about the life of his friend and Palestinian co-director, Basel Adra.
Because he lives in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Massafer Yatta.
This region south of the Palestinian city of Hebron is surrounded by Israeli settlements.
The documentary film by Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham,
No Other Land,
traces the history of the brutal expulsion of Palestinians from their villages, in this region declared a military zone by the Israeli army.
Also readIs France still delivering weapons to Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip?
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