Yuval Abraham responds to Academy's letter after No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballal's attack in the West Bank

Oscar-winning filmmaker Yuval Abraham has criticized the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its response to the recent attack on his Palestinian co-director, Hamdan Ballal.

On March 25, Ballal was assaulted by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and later detained by Israeli soldiers. Abraham has condemned the Academy's failure to publicly support Ballal, calling its response inadequate.

The Academy issued a letter co-signed by CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang, which was sent to its members on March 26. The letter condemned the suppression of artists but emphasized that the Academy represents "close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints," as reported by Deadline on March 27, 2025.

Yuval Abraham took issue with this statement, arguing that it used neutrality as an excuse for silence. Following the letter's release, Abraham expressed his disappointment on X (formerly Twitter).

"After our criticism, the Academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault: they need to respect 'unique viewpoints'," he wrote.

Yuval Abraham also compared this response to the Academy's strong stance in 2010 when it condemned Iran's imprisonment of director Jafar Panahi. Unlike that instance, the letter did not mention Ballal by name, which Yuval Abraham found telling, as stated by Deadline.

---

Yuval Abraham condemns the attack on Hamdan Ballal and criticizes the Academy's Silence

Ballal, who co-directed No Other Land alongside Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, and Rachel Szor, was attacked on the evening of March 25 in his home village of Susiya. As stated by Deadline, multiple eyewitnesses and video footage confirm that he was beaten by Israeli settlers before being detained by Israeli soldiers. He was held overnight at a military base, where he later recounted fearing for his life.

Ballal's detention and mistreatment were widely condemned, with international film organizations and human rights groups calling for his release. The European Film Academy issued a statement supporting Ballal, as did other award organizations and film festivals, according to Variety.

However, Yuval Abraham stated that despite pressure from its members, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refused to make a public statement condemning the attack, as stated by Variety.

Yuval Abraham further detailed Ballal's experience, noting that he was mocked by soldiers referencing No Other Land's Oscar win while being detained.

"In other words, while Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land (he recalled soldiers joking about the Oscar as they tortured him), he was also targeted for being Palestinian—like countless others every day who are disregarded," he wrote.

Hamdan Ballal himself spoke to ABC News after his release, describing the severity of the assault.

"It was a hard, hard attack," he said. "I feel I will die, because this attack was so hard. I bleed from everywhere. I'm crying deeply in my heart."

He also stated that he was blindfolded for 24 hours and forced to sleep under a freezing air conditioner while in military detention.

Following Ballal's attack and arrest, filmmakers and activists, including Alex Gibney and Christine Vachon, signed a petition demanding his release. Over 4,500 people signed the petition within days, as stated by Variety.

No Other Land follows a Palestinian family facing displacement in the West Bank and highlights the destruction of their home by Israeli authorities. The documentary was co-directed by Abraham, Ballal, Adra, and Szor and won the Best Documentary Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards in March 2024, according to Deadline.

According to Variety, the film first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the top documentary jury and audience prizes before gaining further recognition at festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, and New York.

Despite lacking a US distributor, the filmmakers took the initiative to self-release the film in New York City on January 31 and Los Angeles on February 7.