"No Other Land" victory

Israel: “Sad moment for the world of cinema”

Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham from "No other land" on March 2 at the 97th Oscars(Bild: AFP/FREDERIC J. BROWN)

Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has reacted negatively to the Israeli-Palestinian documentary "No Other Land" winning an Oscar. It was a "sad moment for the world of cinema."

The film is about the evacuation of Palestinian villages in the West Bank. The right-wing religious Israeli government, to which Zohar belongs, is considered pro-settler.

Directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham used the stage in Los Angeles to draw attention to the situation in their region.

Zohar wrote on X (see post above): "Instead of portraying the complexity of Israeli reality, the filmmakers chose to reinforce narratives that distort Israel to an international audience."

Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham from "No other land" at the 97th Oscars on March 2(Bild: AFP/FREDERIC J. BROWN)

Miki Zohar 2019 (center)(Bild: AFP/AFP )

Freedom of expression is an important value, "but turning defamation of Israel into an instrument to get ahead internationally is not an art," he continued.

"Sabotage against the state of Israel"
Rather, it is "sabotage against the state of Israel, especially after the massacre on October 7 and the ongoing war".