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No Other Land director slams US Academy for ‘no public support' to Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten by Israeli soldiers
No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham criticized the US Academy for failing to support Hamdan Ballal during his ordeal.
Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who recently won an Oscar for his film No Other Land, was severely beaten by Israeli settlers and soldiers on Monday night. Now, his co-director, Yuval Abraham, has claimed that the “US Academy declined to publicly support [him] while Hamdan was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers.”
Yuval Abraham slams US Academy
On March 26, Yuval took to X (formerly Twitter) and penned a long note calling out the US Academy for not supporting Hamdan "when he needed them the most." He wrote, "Sadly, the US Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers. The European Academy voiced support, as did countless other award groups and festivals. Several US Academy members—especially in the documentary branch—pushed for a statement, but it was ultimately refused. We were told that because other Palestinians were beaten up in the settler attack, it could be considered unrelated to the film, so they felt no need to respond."
He added, "In other words, while Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land (he recalled soldiers joking about the Oscar as they tortured him), he was also targeted for being Palestinian—like countless others every day who are disregarded. This, it seems, gave the Academy an excuse to remain silent when a filmmaker they honoured, living under Israeli occupation, needed them the most."
Yuval concluded by urging the US Academy to issue a statement in support of Hamdan, saying, "It’s not too late to change this stance. Even now, issuing a statement condemning the attack on Hamdan and the Masafer Yatta community would send a meaningful message and serve as a deterrent for the future."
Hamdan Ballal recalls his ordeal
Palestinian director Ballal was freed the day before after being detained and beaten, according to the two filmmakers. He recounted his ordeal to The Associated Press and revealed that a settler kicked his head “like a football” during an attack on his village. The soldiers then detained him and two other Palestinians.
Hamdan said he was kept blindfolded for more than 20 hours, sitting on the floor under a blasting air conditioner. He added that the soldiers kicked, punched, or hit him with a stick whenever they came on their guard shifts. Hamdan doesn’t speak Hebrew, but he said he heard them saying his name and the word “Oscar.”
