Yuval Abraham

{{Short description|Israeli journalist, film director, translator and activist (born 1995)}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Yuval Abraham (Dokumentarfilmpreis, Berlinale 2024) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Abraham at the 2024 Berlinale

| native_name = יובל אברהם

| native_name_lang = he

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1995}}

| birth_place = Beersheba, Israel

| alma_mater =

| occupation = Journalist, film director

| years_active = 2017–present

}}

Yuval Abraham ({{langx|he|יובל אברהם}}; born 1995) is an Israeli investigative journalist, film director, and Arabic–Hebrew translator. He rose to international prominence when he co-directed No Other Land (2024), an Oscar-winning documentary about the Israel Defense Forces and settler violence in the West Bank, and gave a pro-equality speech at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.

Biography

Based in Jerusalem, Abraham was born to an Israeli middle-class family in the southern city of Beersheba.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67335042|title=The writers who reached out across the divide|website=BBC News|first=Fergal|last=Keane|date=6 November 2023|accessdate=4 March 2024}} He is of Mizrahi Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry; his Jewish Yemenite grandfather was a fluent Palestinian Arabic speaker. One of his grandmothers was born in an Italian concentration camp in Libya, and one of his grandfathers lost most of his family in the Holocaust.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/together-apart-israeli-palestinian-duos-west-bank-story-berlinale-2024-02-17/|title=Together but apart: Israeli-Palestinian duo's West Bank story at Berlinale|journal=Reuters|first1=Thomas|last1=Escritt|first2=Riham|last2=Alkousaa|date=17 February 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}} At 19, Abraham was enlisted and assigned to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)'s Intelligence Corps, but he never assumed his role; after a week in training, he refused to serve for political and personal reasons and decided to leave the army. The process of leaving took a few weeks, during which he was assigned to be a quartermaster in the Air Force. After leaving the military, he did volunteer work with Israeli and Palestinian children at schools for two years.

{{cite news |date=7 January 2019 |title=הערבית הצמיחה בי זהות חדשה שחוק הלאום מאיים לעקור |url=https://www.mekomit.co.il/ps/68741/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124231621/https://www.mekomit.co.il/ps/68741/ |archive-date=2024-11-24 |access-date=15 February 2025 |work=שיחה מקומית |language=he |quote=בגיל 19 יועדתי לתפקיד במודיעין, אך אחרי שבוע, בקורס ההכשרה, כשהבנתי מה התפקיד יכלול, החלטתי לצאת מהצבא ולא עשיתי את התפקיד הזה. זאת היתה גם החלטה פוליטית. לא רציתי שהערבית תשמש אותי ככלי נשק, וגם אישית, שקשורה לסיבות משפחתיות. בזמן תהליך היציאה מהצבא, העבירו אותי להיות אפסנאי בחיל האוויר, ולאחר שבועות ספורים עזבתי את הצבא, והתנדבתי במשך כשנתיים בבתי ספר ביפו, בתל אביב ובחיפה. |trans-quote=At the age of 19, I was assigned to a position in intelligence, but after a week in the training course, when I understood what the role would entail, I decided to leave the army and not do that role. It was also a political decision. I didn't want Arabic to be used as a weapon for me, and also a personal one, related to family reasons. During the process of leaving the army, I was transferred to be a Quartermaster in the Air Force, and after a few weeks I left the army, and volunteered for about two years in schools in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and Haifa.}}

Learning Arabic and meeting Palestinians in the West Bank, including staying with families as their homes were demolished by the IDF, was how Abraham became an outspoken critic of the Israeli military's occupation of Palestinians. He has worked in language education and taught Arabic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/yuval-abraham|title=Yuval Abraham|website=Middle East Eye|accessdate=4 March 2024}}

In 2019, Abraham reached out to London-based journalist Ahmed Alnaouq, who runs the Gaza writers' collective We Are Not Numbers (WANN), for an interview, and helped Alnaouq, who wanted the stories to reach a wider audience, connect with translators.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.972mag.com/gaza-fence-stories-hebrew/|title=Palestinians in Gaza are bringing their stories of siege to Israelis|journal=+972 Magazine|first=Orly|last=Noy|date=6 January 2020|accessdate=4 March 2024}} Together, Abraham and Alnaouq founded Across the Wall, a platform where Palestinians' stories are translated into Hebrew with the aim of humanising Palestinians and challenging mainstream Israeli narratives that demonise them.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.newarab.com/opinion/across-wall-role-palestinian-stories-hebrew|title=Across the wall: The role of Palestinian stories in Hebrew|journal=The New Arab|first=Ahmed|last=Alnaouq|date=26 July 2022|accessdate=4 March 2024}} The webpage reportedly received over a million visitors in 2021. The project was put on indefinite hiatus in November 2023 after 23 members of Alnaouq's family, including young children, were killed by Israeli bombing.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-02/ty-article-magazine/.premium/ahmed-wanted-israelis-to-listen-to-gazans-then-23-of-his-family-members-were-killed/0000018b-8fb6-db7e-af9b-eff7d71f0000|title=Ahmed Wanted Israelis to Listen to Gazans. Then 23 of His Family Members Were Killed|journal=Haaretz|first=Linda|last=Dayan|date=2 November 2023|accessdate=4 March 2024}}

As of 2024, Abraham works as a journalist and investigative reporter for the independent media outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call, having called them "the only places" he can "try to use my privilege to expose the mechanisms of oppression in our country, whether it's by documenting the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in Jerusalem or speaking to refugees in Jenin".{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/support-972-a-critical-anti-occupation-voice-in-israel-palestine/|title=Support +972, a critical anti-occupation voice in Israel-Palestine - Yuval Abraham, writer|website=Jewish Voice for Labour|date=31 December 2021|accessdate=4 March 2024}} He also worked for Social TV, contributed to publications such as The Guardian,{{Cite journal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/yuval-abraham/|title=Yuval Abraham | The Guardian|journal=The Guardian|accessdate=22 November 2024}} The Nation, and appeared on networks such as Democracy Now!{{Cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/appearances/yuval_abraham|title=Shows featuring Yuval Abraham|website=Democracy Now!|date=1 December 2023|accessdate=4 March 2024}} and CNN.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2024/01/10/amanpour-abraham.cnn|title=Some Israeli intel officers 'shocked by what they were asked to do' in Gaza, says Israeli journalist|website=CNN|first=Bianna|last=Golodryga|author-link= Bianna Golodryga|date=11 January 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}}

=''No Other Land''=

File:MKr354246 Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham (Dokumentarfilmpreis, Berlinale 2024).jpg

Abraham co-directed, co-filmed and featured in the documentary No Other Land with Basel Adra alongside Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor, about Adra's long-term attempts to resist Israeli settler violence and displacement from his home in Masafer Yatta. The group had no experience in documentary filmmaking and initially approached the story as activists and journalists.{{Cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/457766|title=Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham • Directors of No Other Land|website=CinEuropa|first=Ola|last=Salwa|date=28 February 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}} Working together for over five years, with Adra and Ballal having footage including home videos from Adra's family, the documentary depicts Adra befriending Abraham and juxtaposes Adra's life under occupation with Abraham's life of freedom.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/palestinian-israeli-no-other-land-doc-eradication-palestinian-villages-political-solution-1235910522/|title=Palestinian, Israeli Activists Talk 'No Other Land' Doc on Eradication of Palestinian Villages and Hopes It Can Help 'Find a Political Solution'|work=Variety|first=Nick|last=Vivarelli|date=16 February 2024|access-date=25 February 2024|language=en }}{{Cite journal|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/125182-interview-basel-adra-yuval-abraham-no-other-land/|title="There is No Nice Way to Bulldoze a School": Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham on No Other Land|journal=Filmmaker Magazine|first=Nicolas|last=Rapold|date=27 February 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}} No Other Land opened in February 2024 to critical acclaim at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), where it won two awards: The Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film{{Cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/berlin2024-memories-of-a-burning-body-no-other-land-win-panorama-audience-awards-1235834556/ |title=Berlin: Memories of a Burning Body, No Other Land Win Panorama Audience Awards |first=Scott |last=Roxborough |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=24 February 2024 |access-date=24 February 2024 |language=en }} and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award.{{Cite news |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/457564 |title=Mati Diop's Dahomey bags the Berlinale Golden Bear |first=Davide |last=Abbatescianni |date=24 February 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=Cineuropa |language=en}}

In his acceptance speech, Abraham called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the "situation of apartheid... [and] inequality" between himself and Adra in the occupied West Bank to end.{{Cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/26/headlines/the_apartheid_has_to_end_director_yuval_abraham_highlights_palestinian_plight_in_berlinale_speech|title="The Apartheid Has to End": Director Yuval Abraham Highlights Palestinian Plight in Berlinale Speech|website=Democracy Now!|date=26 February 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}} This drew accusations of antisemitism toward the event from Israeli media and German politicians such as Kai Wegner.{{cite news |last1=Mouriquand |first1=David |title=Antisemitism and criminal charges: Berlinale controversy explained |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/02/27/antisemitism-accusations-hacks-and-criminal-charges-the-berlinale-controversy-explained |work=euronews |date=27 February 2024 |access-date=31 May 2025 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Sarkar |first1=Alisha Rahaman |title=Israeli filmmaker gets death threats after calling for Gaza ceasefire at Berlin film festival |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/israel-gaza-apartheid-yuval-abraham-berlin-b2503668.html |access-date=31 May 2025 |work=The Independent |date=28 Feb 2024 |language=en}} After receiving death threats and a right-wing mob searching for him at his family's house in Israel, Abraham was forced to cancel his flight back home. Abraham made a viral statement on social media: "The appalling misuse of this word... to silence Israelis like me who support a ceasefire... empties the word antisemitism of meaning and thus endangers Jews all over the world". He found it "particularly outraging" coming from German politicians and also expressed concern for Adra's safety "under a military occupation surrounded by violent settlements".{{cite journal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/israeli-filmmaker-berlin-awards-speech-antisemitic-threats-1235837583/|title=Israeli Filmmaker Slams German Politicians for Branding Berlin Award-Winning Speech "Antisemitic"|journal=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|date=27 February 2024|accessdate=28 February 2024}} The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged authorities to protect Abraham and his family.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2469436/media|title=Media watchdog urges protection of Israeli journalist facing death threats after pro-Palestine speech|journal=Arab News|date=1 March 2024|accessdate=4 March 2024}} In an interview on Israeli television, Abraham said he found it most difficult that his mother paid a price for his speech when a mob came to his house to search for him, causing her to leave, adding that he accepted the criticism of those who scolded him for not mentioning the Israeli hostages held in Gaza in his speech, saying "in retrospect, I would have mentioned the hostages", noting the speech was short and unplanned as they did not expect to win, and that calling for a ceasefire benefited the hostages too.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=6QcbPO3g7bdG8yrp&v=enSIDNejUPw&feature=youtu.be |title=סוכן תרבות {{!}} 14.02.25 |date=2025-02-14 |last=כאן 11 - תאגיד השידור הישראלי |access-date=2025-02-15 |quote="אני הייתי מזכיר את החטופים במבט לאחור, ואני כאמור מקבל את הביקורת..." |trans-quote="...I would mention the hostages in retrospect, and as I said, I accept the criticism." |via=YouTube}}