It seems we can't get through a single award show without someone using the stage to push one-sided propaganda about the Israel-Hamas war. And when they do, they love parading their token Jews to lend it credibility.
Last year, Jonathan Glazer, director of "The Zone of Interest", took to the Oscars stage and claimed the Holocaust was being "hijacked" to justify the IDF's actions in Gaza. Of course, no intellectually honest person needs to invoke the Holocaust to explain why Hamas cannot remain in power – Hamas' own actions on October 7, and its continued holding of hostages, are reason enough.
This year, another pair of filmmakers – Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra – used their Oscar win to push more of the same narrative. The two directors, an Israeli journalist and a Palestinian lawyer-activist, accepted their award for "No Other Land" with speeches lamenting "settler violence, home demolitions, and forced displacement." Abraham declared, "We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger," before going on to decry "ethnic supremacy."
There's plenty to say about both the documentary and their speeches, but much of that has already been dissected. What's more revealing is the reaction from the people who should be their biggest supporters.
While many pro-Israel voices have criticized the film for omitting crucial context, the angriest backlash has come from the pro-Palestinian BDS movement. Despite its anti-Israel framing, No Other Land is being rejected by the very activists it was supposed to champion. And why? Because it was made, in part, by Jewish-Israelis.
Since the Oscar win, social media has been flooded with outrage from Palestinian activists denouncing the film – not for its content, but for its creators. Abraham and co-writer Rachel Szor, both Jewish-Israelis, are being cast as traitors to the cause. Some activists were even furious that Yuval dared to mention the hostages brutally kidnapped on October 7. Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of Within Our Lifetime – a group that openly supports violence against Israelis – condemned the film for promoting "normalization," declaring that Palestinians have "collectively rejected" such efforts for decades.
None of this should come as a surprise. The BDS movement has always been clear: it rejects any collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians, even from those willing to criticize Israel. Its charter explicitly opposes "coexistence" and instead calls for total "resistance" against Israel's existence. The movement even warns against working with left-leaning Jews who express solidarity with Palestinians but still believe in Israel's right to exist.
This is the reality Yuval and Basel refuse to accept. There are Palestinian activists who truly advocate for peace and coexistence, often at great personal risk. But the dominant Palestinian leadership and social justice movements have made it clear – their goal is not peaceful compromise but the eradication of Israel. That's why even a film that paints Israel as the aggressor is not enough for them.
In Israel, we have a phrase for people like Yuval and Basel: Chayim Beseret – "living in a movie." It describes those who are completely detached from reality. While peace and coexistence are worthy aspirations, they cannot be built on naïve fantasies that goodwill alone will solve the conflict. The harsh realities of anti-normalization, rejectionism, and antisemitism must be confronted if we truly seek a lasting and just peace.
