Israeli journalist and documentary filmmaker Yuval Abraham said Monday that he stands “behind every word” of his condemnation of Israeli apartheid and the Gaza genocide at the Berlinale International Film Festival.
Abraham took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share that he has been receiving “death threats” since he condemned Israeli apartheid during his film festival acceptance speech after his documentary “No Other Land” won the for the best documentary. daily sabbath reported.
“Israel's Channel 11 aired this 30-second segment of my speech, incredibly called 'anti-Semitic,'” he wrote. “I stand behind every word.”
The documentary Abraham co-directed with Palestinian lawyer and activist Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor describes the demolition of homes by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and the eviction of people living there.
Accepting the award on Sunday, Abraham, who was standing next to Adra, said: “Basel and I are the same age. I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian and in two days we will return to a land where we are not equal.”
“I live under civilian law and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from each other, but I have the right to vote and Basel does not have the right to vote.
“I am free to move wherever I want on this earth. Basel is like millions of Palestinians, locked in the occupied West Bank. This apartheid situation between us, this inequality, has to end.”
Meanwhile, Adra called on Germany to “respect the [United Nations] and stop sending weapons to Israel,” noting that support from Western countries has allowed nearly 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza to be “massacred and massacred” by Israel.
The Israeli public broadcaster, khanHe quickly called Abraham's comments “anti-Semitic speech,” while Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner criticized the statement and those of several other Palestinian rights advocates at the awards ceremony.
Abraham's statement, filmmaker Ben Russell's decision to wear a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh, and filmmaker Eliza Hittman's call for a ceasefire (supported by international human rights groups, the vast majority of General Assembly member states of the UN and numerous UN agencies) were reduced to “an intolerable relativization”, according to Wegner.
The federal commissioner for culture and media said Monday that the government will investigate the filmmakers' statements.
