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Palestinian singer Saint Levant ‘disappointed’ Israel was part of Palestine’s first Oscar win

Palestinian singer Saint Levant ‘disappointed’ Israel was part of Palestine’s first Oscar win

He said that an Israeli-Palestinian documentary won made it seem as if liberation could only be achieved with the "colonisers".
05 Mar, 2025

Israeli-Palestinian documentary No Other Land’s Oscar win has been celebrated by many, but not Jerusalem-born singer Saint Levant who is disappointed over the celebrations because Israelis are part of the film too.

The documentary follows the alliance that develops between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham as Adra resists the forcible displacement of his people in Masafer Yatta. The film shows Israeli soldiers tearing down homes and evicting residents to create a military training zone.

The singer, who has Palestinian heritage, took to Instagram to highlight that an Israeli on the Academy Award stage talking about October 7, 2023 was “just so wrong” and that “it makes it seem like the way we will be liberated is by holding hands with our colonisers which is called ‘normalisation’.”

The ‘Exile’ singer said, “Israelis want you to believe that we just need to love each other, understand each other, and everything will be alright. They want you to believe this is two equal sides that just need to ‘talk it out’.”

Saint Levant admitted that when he was younger, he engaged in normalising media and was “pretty much ‘used’ by Israelis to try and humanise themselves”. He added that he learned from his mistakes and apologised several times because the normalisation was wrong, counterproductive and took away from “real liberation efforts”.

In a second story, the singer clarified that he would never hate on Palestinian success and gave all his love to Adra, the Palestinian filmmaker behind the documentary.

“What makes me emotional is the fact that it has to be an ’Israel-Palestinian production for it to win. We need to be present alongside our oppressors to be heard. We need to be shepherded onto the stage by the same people who have colonised us for 100 years in order to be seen as humans.

“We will achieve liberation, but not like this.”

Comments

Tahmad Mar 05, 2025 04:10pm
Only two State solutions is a viable option for both Israel and Palestine, Please stop playing politics after politics on this holy land of all faiths Christians-Jews-Muslims. Say Yes to peace and Say no to war. Thanks to all.
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Zeeshan Ahmed Mar 05, 2025 06:41pm
While the efforts of the movie makers are highly appreciated, he does make a good point. Perhaps the Israeli director too believes liberation to be a complete restoration of Palestine where jews, muslims and christians can live peacefully again.
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Krishna Mar 05, 2025 08:23pm
Why nobody shout talk about 7th oct, hypocrisy at its peak.
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Hamed Mar 05, 2025 09:30pm
Murdering of Palestinians with the help of western armaments is very effective!
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Mirza I Baig Mar 05, 2025 10:50pm
Peace negotiations between the two nations face a crucial dilemma: nothing or everything. Unfortunately, this is the main barrier to any chance of resolution. I wish these hardline statements could be kept out of public attention. Some of the most outspoken people in support of the Palestinian rights and against the Israeli atrocities are Jewish.
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dabangg Mar 06, 2025 06:40am
Why should Israel not talk about Oct 7?!
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Jamil Awan Mar 06, 2025 01:31pm
There was a henious act of terrorism by Hamas but tell me Who piad for the unproportional Israel revange. Only the Children and familiari, Hamas is still there. A responsabile state dont revange but punish the true responsabile of terrorism!
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Laila Mar 06, 2025 03:18pm
But he has no problem leaving the Middle East working and settling in the land of the co-colonizer, America, (the one state which has consistently and publicly been enabling, funding and protecting Israel), making the very Islamic and morally upright Los Angeles his home, paying taxes to the US -> Israel. This quarter Palestinian should pipe down and look up coexistence, which many Palestinians and Israelis want. If he pays attention he could learn from the Palestinian and Israeli oscar winning duo about coexistence and unity. That's if he can tear itself away from his hypocrisy.
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