'No Other Land' captures the Palestinian spirit but falls short on Israeli society

Like many Palestinians, I approached No Other Land with some cynicism.

Did I want to watch a Palestinian and an Israeli bonding over how much they both love hummus and labne?

Or that through their friendship, there was still hope for Palestinians and Israelis?

Thankfully, the film, which has garnered numerous festival accolades and has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at Sunday's Oscars, is a compelling and authentic portrait of West Bank Palestinians.

The harsh realities Palestinians face while resisting displacement in the occupied West Bank villages of Masafer Yatta are on full display, with Palestinian Basel Adra, who began filming the Israeli occupation of his village in Masafer Yatta at the age of 15, and Israeli activist Yuval Abraham, giving the audience heart-felt accounts of multiple house demolitions.

The filmmakers show Israeli forces telling Palestinian families time after time that their homes are now suddenly illegal and in an Israeli "military zone". 

We see the terror that settlers unleash on the community and the unprovoked assaults - and even killings - that target any form of protest against injustices, ensuring that those who have seen the film will have these traumatising images etched into their minds.

Archival footage from Adra's childhood is beautifully interwoven throughout the scenes of military force, giving viewers a glimpse of a time when the community did not revolve around impending displacement while simultaneously showing how the wounds of occupation have permeated generations.

We see flashbacks of Adra's father, who was imprisoned multiple times by Israeli authorities throughout his life for his activism, saying the same things and fighting for the same rights that Adra does in present-day Palestine. 

Uncomfortable truth

There are several moments in No Other Land where the despair is overwhelming. But for me, one scene in particular stood out.

Abraham and Adra are driving after filming yet another Palestinian home demolition in Masafer Yatta, where the entire documentary is set. For decades, Israeli authorities have tried to forcibly displace its 1,000 or so Palestinian inhabitants to create a military "firing zone", or training ground for Israeli forces.

"I have to write more. The article I wrote on Harun's mom didn't get many views," Abraham says, referencing a story he wrote on a Masafer Yatta family that was forced to live in a cave after their home was destroyed. A young man, Harun, was shot and paralysed in the process.

You then see Adra smile in silence before he calls Abraham an "akwath", or dumb.

"I feel like you're a little enthusiastic," he replies. "You want everything to happen quickly. Like you’ve come to solve everything in 10 days. 

"Get used to failing. You're a loser." 

In Abraham's delusion, there is an uncomfortable truth that he and Adra are forced to sit with in that car: Abraham knows that his life, his presence and his voice hold more weight than that of Adra's.

One could argue that No Other Land could very well be told without including Abraham at all, but would it have gotten as far as it has without him?

The film was selected for this year's New York Film Festival and won best documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Abraham's disappointment is rooted in the assumption that his Israeli-Jewish identity alone could override the obstacles that Palestinians face - obstacles that many times mean death - when it comes to covering the horrors of the Israeli occupation. 

Although Abraham has good intentions, it serves as a stark reminder to Adra that his Israeli colleague could never fully grasp the amount of tenacity required to push back against the Israeli occupation of Palestine; that if Palestinians were to rely on "wins" to fuel their steadfastness to remain on their land, there would be no Palestinians left in the West Bank.

Despite the film receiving plenty of press coverage and multiple award wins... it has yet to find a distributor in the US 

If you want to feel the pride in knowing that you are supporting the Palestinian cause, you are obligated to feel the ongoing loss that it is inextricably intertwined with; you must accept that you are, in essence, a "loser." 

In some ways, that scene foreshadows the journey the documentary has taken since its release. Despite the film receiving plenty of press coverage and multiple award wins - even going viral after Abraham criticised Israel for its relentless bombardment of Gaza during an acceptance speech - it has yet to find a distributor in the US. 

As of now, the film's production team has taken it upon themselves to distribute their project at independent theatres scattered across major international cities.

It seems that even being nominated for the most prestigious award in the film industry is still not enough for the West to platform Palestinian-focused narratives on a mass scale.

Abraham, an Israeli anomaly

No Other Land leaves viewers with a different takeaway proportionate to their level of investment in the Palestinian cause. 

Those who have just begun to understand the conflict are left reflecting on the oppression that Palestinians have always faced since the creation of Israel, that this did not "just start on 7 October 2023".

The documentary's filming ended shortly after the attacks and does not touch upon the war as part of its subject matter.

For those who have become accustomed to seeing images of Palestinian bodies, of children going face to face with Israeli soldiers as they attempt to protect their homes and families, of parents begging the press to do something about their dying children, they will leave wondering where the rest of the Abrahams are. 

Would it perhaps make a difference if there were multiple Israelis standing arm in arm, guarding a Palestinian home as opposed to just one person? This then begs the bigger question: do that many Israelis who oppose the occupation even exist? 

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Since late 2023, we have witnessed the people of almost every country in the world mobilise to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, with calls to also end the occupation of Palestine in general. 

The global community and their governments have been the most critical of Israel and the most outspoken in support of Palestine than ever before.

Yet, even after 75-plus years of occupation and mass displacement of Palestinians and what has been categorically termed a "genocide" in Gaza, Israeli society remains unmoved. 

In a population that takes pride in being the “only democracy of the Middle East” and a “progressive haven” among Muslim-majority countries, there seems to be very little momentum in redeeming its reputation in front of the international community in what should be a post-apartheid and post-colonial world. 

The majority of voices of the Jewish people protesting against Israel’s occupation are being echoed in the streets of every major city except those in Israel. 

A common line the two filmmakers repeat during interviews is how they - a Palestinian and an Israeli - are the same age but living different lives on the same land.

What was not said

While No Other Land may have accomplished portraying the horrors that Israel creates in the occupied West Bank, it overlooks how Israeli society at large sees the oppression of Palestinians not just as an "unfortunate reality" but rather as justified treatment. 

The "antagonists" of the documentary are the Israeli army and the authorities that make the orders, but it is not brave enough to puncture through the surface to face the root of the problem: a society that by and large supports the actions of the occupation and its end goal of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from the land.

Adra may represent the lives of most Palestinians in the West Bank, but Abraham is a complete anomaly in Israel.

This is not to say that there are not numerous NGOs in Israel that aim to create solidarity with Palestinians and educate Israeli citizens about the ongoing oppression on the other side of the wall. There is solid work being done in the documentation of Israeli crimes in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians with Israeli citizenship have also tried their best to protest under severe censorship from the Israeli government. 

Though it may not have stressed how far the general consensus of Israeli society strays from the likes of Abraham, No Other Land did not shy away from showing how uncomfortable Palestinians were with his presence in Masafer Yatta. 

While he was invited into homes and gatherings with Palestinians, there were still many moments of raw honesty that were laid bare.

One Palestinian man, in particular, debated with Abraham multiple times during the documentary, asking him how he could expect them to be friends when “the people who are demolishing our homes could be your cousins”.

He also points out that Abraham could leave the high-stress of Masafer Yatta and freely roam through occupied Palestine while they are caged in by countless checkpoints and expanding Israeli settlements. 

Abraham earnestly entertains these conversations in perfect Arabic, which he took upon himself to learn during his teenage years, as he tries to convince the man that there could be a way for them to co-exist. But the debates never seem to resolve.

Regardless of the film’s outcome at the Academy Awards, No Other Land's timeliness documents a very particular moment in time for Palestine.

Adra's frustration, restlessness and exhaustion mirror that of every Palestinian resisting long before the cameras were pointed towards them. 

Abraham's naive hope, which often overlooks his privilege, is mirrored in the newfound spirit of fresh allies who already understand that this struggle cannot be won overnight.

It is a new generation that must, like Adra advised Abraham, "get used to failing" and losing before it can reap what it sows.