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Palestinian Director of Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land’ Released by IDF After Arrested for Throwing Rocks at Israeli Forces
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land” during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Palestinian filmmaker and photographer Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the anti-Israel Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was released Tuesday morning after being arrested by the Israel Defense Forces the night before on suspicion of throwing rocks at Israeli security forces in the southern West Bank, according to the IDF.
“No Other Land” co-director Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and activist, said in a post on X that Ballal was currently being treated at a hospital in Hebron for injuries sustained “all over his body” during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on Monday night.
Following his arrest, a spokesperson for the IDF said that, “contrary to claims, no Palestinian was apprehended from inside an ambulance.” The statement directly denies claims made by “No Other Land” co-director and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham about Ballal’s arrest. On Monday, Abraham claimed in a message on X that Ballal was “assaulted and beaten up” by a group of settlers” in the West Bank. Abraham was reportedly not at the scene of the incident. Adra, who lives in Masafer Yatta, added in a post on X that Ballal was allegedly “abducted” by IDF soldiers while he was “injured and bleeding.”
“They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since,” Abraham said.
Early Tuesday morning, Abraham posted an update on X, saying that Ballal was held at a police station in Kiryat Arba, and that “after being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base,” he was released.
“No Other Land” is a documentary about Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in the southern West Bank that were illegally built on land that Israel had claimed for a military training zone in the 1980s. The film is highly critical of Israel’s military actions and portrays Israel as violent land grabbers who forcibly evict and displace Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists – Abraham, Ballal, Adra, and Israeli cinematographer Rachel Szor. Earlier this month, all four were at the Oscars to accept the award for best documentary feature film for “No Other Land.”
After news of Monday night’s incident surfaced online, anti-Israel actor Mark Ruffalo voiced support for Ballal on social media. He commented on an Instagram post by IndieWire about Ballal’s arrest and said in part that “every film maker and academy member should be acting together in protest.”
The IDF spokesperson said in a statement that on Monday night, “several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles,” near the Palestinian village of Susya, located in the Masafer Yatta area in the West Bank. Afterward, a “violent confrontation” broke out, which involved “mutual rock-hurling” between Palestinians and Israelis, the IDF said. Videos purportedly showing the violent clashes were shared on social media by Anna Lippman, an activist with the pro-Palestinian group Center for Jewish Nonviolence who was targeted with violence at the scene.
“IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces,” the military spokesperson said. “In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police … Among the detainees is Hamdan Bilal [sic], who is suspected of hurling rocks at the forces.” The spokesperson added that an Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and “was evacuated to receive medical treatment.”
“No Other Land” does not have a theatrical distributor in the United States but did screen at independent cinemas in selected cities. After it began screening at an independent theater in Miami Beach, Florida, the city’s mayor proposed evicting the theater from city property and cutting its funding.
Mayor Steven Meiner withdrew his proposal after it faced backlash from many community members.
The post Palestinian Director of Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land’ Released by IDF After Arrested for Throwing Rocks at Israeli Forces first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.