Israeli director Yuval Abraham, descendant of Holocaust survivors, accused of anti-Semitism

3 mins

From our correspondent in Jerusalem,

When receiving his prize, Yuval Abraham took the stage with his Palestinian co-director Basel Adra. Yuval Abraham delivers this speech. “ We are standing here, in front of you. With Basel, we are the same age. I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian. In two days, we will return to a land where we are not equal. I live under a civil law regime. Basel lives under a regime of military law. We live half an hour from each other, but I have the right to vote and Basel does not. I am free to move as I want on this land, but Basel, like millions of Palestinians, is locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this injustice, must end “.

Several German politicians cry “anti-Semitism”

This speech is called “ anti-Semitic », by Israeli public television. And in Berlin, where he was pronounced, the German authorities judge him “ unacceptable “. Notably the mayor of Berlin. “ Anti-Semitism has no place in Berlin, and this also applies to the art scene. I expect the new management of the Berlinale to ensure that such incidents do not happen again », Reacted the mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner.

Since then, Yuval Abraham has received death threats. He had to cancel his return flight to Israel. Israeli far-right activists went to his family home. His family members were also threatened, and had to flee to another Israeli city. Despite these pressures, the young director remains straight in his boots. He says ” take responsibility for each of his words “.

He points out the irresponsibility of the Israeli media. And the exploitation of his words by German politicians whose aim, according to him, is “ to silence any criticism of Israel “. The spokesperson for the German government states: that it is unacceptable that the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 was not mentioned », during the speech at the Berlinale.

Read alsoGaza: Israeli fire leaves around a hundred dead on the sidelines of a humanitarian distribution, according to Hamas

Death threats

“ What audacity », protests Yuval Abraham on his X account (formerly Twitter). “ Being accused of anti-Semitism by German politicians, when you have a grandmother born in a concentration camp, and when you lost part of your family exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust, is scandalous “.

Yuval Abraham also says he is worried about the life of his friend and Palestinian co-director, Basel Adra. Because he lives in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Massafer Yatta. This region south of the Palestinian city of Hebron is surrounded by Israeli settlements. The documentary film by Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, No Other Land, traces the history of the brutal expulsion of Palestinians from their villages, in this region declared a military zone by the Israeli army.

Read alsoIs France still delivering weapons to Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip?