Yuval Abraham
Appearances
Apple News Today
How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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.
It's Been a Minute
Is Hollywood soft censoring Palestinian art?
We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2149 - Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting GOES TOTALLY NUCLEAR
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 Bassel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2149 - Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting GOES TOTALLY NUCLEAR
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.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Yeah. Well, I think this is why the Oscars help, because, you know, when a film is nominated, then suddenly and I see this now in Israeli society, we released the film now online in Israel and Palestine. And of course, it's challenging. But, you know, I'm beginning to read comments from Israelis who are not necessarily like me.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
As you said, they are not part of the did you call it a dying minority or like a small minority, which which I hope changes.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Because for me, I feel this is my main responsibility as an Israeli, is to work with the Israeli society and to try to... I'm going to have a bunch of interviews on mainstream Israeli media and to try to show people the way in which I see the world and to try to convince them to come closer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Wow.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
This is a key issue, David. If I look at, you know, the few years that we had leading to October 7th that had the protests against the judicial overhaul, against the weakening of the Israeli judicial system and the Supreme Court, which were policies that Netanyahu had tried to promote.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
You know, this was something that was led by, let's say, the Israeli center-left, the liberal community in Israel. Many of them live in Tel Aviv. And I would attend those protests because I thought they were important.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
But one word that was missing there, because people were chanting democracy and democracy, that was missing from the mainstream side of this protest was occupation, was Palestinians, was a political solution. And I think that for far too long, The Israeli liberal side has sort of allowed, not only allowed, but had contributed for things that were happening in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And there is a contradiction here that we are seeing today. I mean, things are related. Many people on the left have warned for many, many years that, you know, what is happening to the Palestinians will eventually seep through into the Israeli society. And of course, like the Israeli right is getting stronger. And then the oppression of Palestinians is getting bigger.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And then Hamas is getting stronger. And then by attacking Israeli civilians, the Israeli right is... But there is this loop that we are seeing where it's like a win-win for those who do not want a political solution. And I think it's really important to understand that... It's not some binary thing. It's not like either the Palestinians win or the Israelis win.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
In a sense, it's either we all win or we all lose. And I hope that the Israeli liberals, to get back to my previous point, will not continue to protect the occupation or apartheid. And we will try to work to have an alternative because we really need this. We need this like water, really. There will be no other way forward if there is no political horizon.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
We have 45 seconds left. And Basel needs to speak first, I think. But I think for me, if I will say something concrete about the current moment, I think for me, what is the most urgent thing is that all stages of the ceasefire will be implemented. And there's a very high risk. I think in the short term, the pressure should really be on
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
on moving and doing all the stages of the ceasefire agreement so we can get out of this current, you know, bloodbath that we are in and begin, hopefully, working for a political solution.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Thank you very much.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I hate being with Basil on the field because I'm much slower than him. So he always runs. I'm behind him. I also, I smoke more, so I'm less in shape.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I actually came to this through journalism or to be, to even go even a step backwards. In a way, I came to this through the Arabic language, I think, because when I was younger, I studied Arabic. I grew up, you know, in quite a mainstream Israeli town, not meeting Palestinians, not knowing a lot about what is happening in the West Bank.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And after I began studying Arabic, it really changed my life. It changed me politically, but I think also emotionally. My grandfather, who is a Jewish person born in Jerusalem and his family is originally from Yemen, he spoke fluent Palestinian Arabic. But then, you know, after this family connection, I began also meeting Palestinians. First, Palestinians were citizens of Israel.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And gradually, I began going more and more into the West Bank. And I think the knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew is sort of what's made me a journalist.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Wherever you look in the West Bank and also inside Israel, for example, in the Negev, you see Palestinian houses being bulldozed. You see Palestinian villages where they have no connection to water or electricity, and they are unable to obtain a permit. The Israeli military declines.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
It's almost 99% of Palestinian requests for building permits, according to data that the military has supplied to organizations like Bimkom and others, Israeli human rights organizations that are researching this issue. And when I looked in the Israeli media or I began talking to Israeli friends from where I grew up or my family, the response I always got was, well, they're building illegally.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
This is a legal issue. They did not obtain a permit and it's illegal. But when I began researching and looking at documents and looking at statistics, you very quickly realize that it's a political issue, that there is a systematic effort to prevent this acquisition of building permits. I think for me, what was most interesting important and shocking when I first met Basil.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
This is like the first day that we met. I remember there was a house demolition happening in Basil's village and we ran to it. I remember like the soldiers threw stun grenades and they kicked this person out of his house and destroyed the house. And there was so much violence there at that moment.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I remember like the children looking at it and the family then not sure what to do and where will they go and where will they sleep. And I felt it's very wrong, you know, that this is happening. And I felt a certain responsibility, I guess, to communicate that first and first most to Israelis. So I began writing mainly in Hebrew.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And something about that experience really drew me back to come back to Masafariyata and to basically witness this happening over and over again.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I can tell you what I know for sure, that films have effects on individuals and they change the hearts of individuals. And the only reason why I know this for a fact is because it happens to me. Like when I was younger, I remember I watched a documentary called Five Broken Cameras, which was also nominated for an Oscar and was created by an Israeli-Palestinian team.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And it really, really touched me. And it really made me question some of the beliefs I grew up with.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I grew up 25 minutes away from Basel's village near the Be'er Sheva area, which is in the south of Israel. And I mean, I lived my life and, you know, you don't know or you don't see, or maybe you see, but you kind of tune out of the realities happening in the West Bank and what Basel's community has been going through. I would always hear about Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
throwing stones at Israeli soldiers or at Israeli settlers. And when you don't know anything about the context, when you imagine that they're just living normal lives like your lives, the explanation that you put on these acts of violence is always going to be they're doing that because they hate us, because they are evil.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
No, look, I do believe that, and I'm not the only Israeli, Israelis talk about this all the time, that part of the conditions which allowed for October 7th was an Israeli right-wing policy for decades that's set to empower Hamas in Gaza, weaken more moderate Palestinians, keep a separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to prevent a Palestinian state.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I do believe that people retain moral agency. So I think... Horrible war crimes were committed on October 7th. Three people that I knew were killed on October 7th. Even people who are oppressed still have moral agency. And kidnapping children or massacring civilians is wrong. And the people who are committing that have... a moral responsibility.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
And I see this tendency both in the Palestinian side and also in the Israeli side to not assume responsibility for crimes or actions because the other side has committed crimes. And looking at, you know, October 7th, It's almost a year and a half since where, you know, if 38 Israeli children were killed on October 7th, each one of their deaths is a crime.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
We have now in Gaza 17,000 children, 10,000 children who are missing. And when you talk with Israelis about this, they have this mirror image of justification where they point to the crime of October 7th and say, well, this justifies everything that we have done since.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
You're right. Recently, there was a vote in the Knesset about a statement where the Israeli Knesset said there will never be a Palestinian state. And there are 120 Knesset members, parliament members. The statement passed and only eight parliament members, I think that was the number eight or maybe it was nine, opposed out of 120. Most of the eight were Palestinian Israelis.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
There was only one Jewish Israeli parliament member who opposed that. So this is a pressing issue. And it's very terrifying for me because I think that you are right. I mean, there is no... discourse here locally that could lead to a political solution. And we are hungry for hope.