Israeli filmmaker receives death threats for ‘anti-Semitic’ speech after winning award for pro-Palestine documentary

Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham received death threats after a 30-second clip from his speech accepting the Berlinale Documentary Film Award was aired in Israel and dubbed “anti-Semitic”.

Filmmakers Abraham and Rachel Szor from Israel along with Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal from Palestine, made their directorial debut with the 2024 documentary No Other Land, which details the expulsion of Palestinians from occupied Masafer Yatta. The documentary also explores the difference in Adra and Abraham’s living conditions after they befriend each other.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Abraham said: “Our film No Other Land on occupied Masafer Yatta’s brutal expulsion won best documentary in Berlinale. Israel’s Channel 11 aired this 30 second segment from my speech, insanely called it ‘anti semitic’ - and I’ve been receiving death threats since”.

He emphasised that he stood behind every word he said during his speech.

During his speech, Abraham said: “We are standing in front of you — me and Basel are the same age, I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian. In two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. I am living under civilian law and Basel is under military law”.

Continuing to highlight the disparity between Palestinians and Israelis, he stated, “We live 30 minutes from one another but I have voting rights and Basel is not having voting rights [sic]. I’m free to move where I want in this land, Basel is — like millions of Palestinians — locked in the West Bank”.

“This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end. we ask how we can make a change to end the occupation, to move for a political situation and we don’t really have an answer but I think one answer is for people to really stand up. There are a lot of powerful people in this room. There are a lot of ministers and people whose voices are heard,” he said.

“We need to call for a ceasefire, we need to call for a political solution to end the occupation,” he highlighted.

Adra also took the mic and said: “For years, my community, my family has been filming our community being erased by this brutal occupation”.

“I’m here celebrating this award but it’s also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza. Massafer Yatta, my community is also being erased by Israeli bulldozers,” he continued.

“I ask one thing for Germany as I am in Berlin here: to respect the UN calls and stop sending weapons to Israel,” Adra added.