No Other Land

Palestinian lawyer and journalist Basel Adra's entire life has been lived under an occupation that denies him the right to practice the profession he earned a degree in or travel outside of the West Bank. The twenty-something son of activist parents remembers his father being arrested for the first time when he was only five years old. At the age of seven he was protesting with his mother in a field, trying to save the homes in the twenty villages of Masafer Yatta, an area settled by Palestinian farmers in the 19th century, now decreed Army training grounds by the Israeli Government. After meeting and forming a friendship with like-minded Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, Basel's documentation of cruelty, devastation and even murder begins to see the light for people who have "No Other Land."

Laura's Review: A-

It says a lot about the state of the world and a failure of courage that this Oscar nominated documentary critical of Israel still has no distributor. The good news is it is still being released in theaters across the country and it is an important, necessary piece of docu-journaling, one which often refutes official statements. Any lack of polish in the filmmaking is counteracted by the dangerous conditions the filmmakers faced in achieving it, evinced by not one but two instances of Israelis shooting peaceful and unarmed Palestinians in their presence.

We meet Basel driving towards his home as darkness settles, panicked phone calls urging him to hurry as Israelis vehicles gather. His humble home still stands above the gas station that supplies the community and is his father Nasser's livelihood. Nasser is currently jailed again in an Israeli military prison (we are not told why, although his activism is obviously the reason).

The film, written, directed, edited and produced by the Palestinian/Israeli collaborative of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor, is really about two things - a horrifying look at the inhumanity shown the Palestinians by the Israelis and the burgeoning relationship between two men from opposite sides of the conflict. The latter is not entirely a lovefest because while Yuval frequently is harassed along with the Palestinians he is supporting by Israeli troops, he also comes under fire from many who tell him his own relatives may be tearing down their homes (it is pointed out more than once that while Palestinians may only get construction jobs in Israel, building their homes, Israelis turn around and demolish theirs). And while Basel and Yuval are often seen in comfortable companionship, there is also some strain when Yuval leaves, his ability to travel at will in sharp contrast to Basel's situation ('Are we OK?' he asks pulling away one night as a glum looking Basel scrolls through his phone, refusing to look up.)

But what Basel and Yuval have documented is outrageous no matter how you slice it, a torrent of malevolent cruelty. A man named Ilan comes in issuing demolition orders and everyone from children to elderly parents watch as their homes, playgrounds and schools are razed, often with little or no warning and often purposefully destroying personal goods in the process (one woman recounts how all her kitchen wares were simply plowed into the ground). Electricity is cut and when Israelis try to drag a generator away (for what reason???), they shoot the man trying to defend it. Harun Abu Aram is paralyzed and left with no roof over his head, his mother later lamenting that although he has received much media attention, no one has even provided him a clean room - she prays for God to take him (he does). Sheep pens are destroyed, wells cemented over, water lines cut, building tools seized. When illegal settlers begin to attack, they are joined by Israeli soldiers. The people who have refused to leave their land, living in caves, finally begin to give up when settlers shoot them in cold blood.

Of course the Trumpian claims of 'military training' are revealed a sham, a secret government document admitting 'all firing zones were created to reserve the land for Israeli settlers' ("The Bibi Files" is highly recommended for a cause and effect double bill). "No Other Land" demands condemnation for these acts, but who is willing to stand up in today's global climate?

Robin's Review: A-

Yuval is a Jewish Israeli journalist working with his Palestinian colleague Basel on the contested land on the West Bank. Basel has been resisting the incursion of Israeli military on their land but it is impossible to stop the forced eviction and destruction of their homes in “No Other Land.”

Imagine a world where I have a yellow license plate on my car and you have a green one. My plate allows me to drive wherever I want, but yours restricts you from travelling outside of your neighborhood. That is just one of the critical issues that Basel and Yuval delve into with their eye opening document.

The Palestinians in the West Bank village of Masafer Yatta are told by the Israeli authorities that their homes (for years) are to be destroyed to make way for IDF tank maneuvers. The convoy of bulldozers, dump trucks and troop transports invade the town and systematically tear down the Palestinian homes, forcing the inhabitants to move into caves.

This is not just an invasion of the land, though. It is a blatant effort to subjugate the Palestinians – like that has not been the goal for decades. The relentless push on the locals to leave their home does not even allow them time to save their possession. They are forced to search the debris of their once-homes for anything that can be salvaged.

For all the tragedy – at one point, a Palestinian protester is shot and paralyzed by IDF soldiers – there is also an air of resilience and survival for the dispossessed. It is amazing how the women make the dark and cold caves into a home for their families. While living underground, the men work secretly through the night to rebuild their homes, only to have to bulldozers return and flatten it all again.

I called Basel and Yuval “colleagues” rather than friends. That is because they live in two, very separate worlds were one can move about freely and safe and the other is in a prison, without rights. Basel lives a life of acceptance and resistance, in equal measures. But, when all is said and done, Yuval can leave whenever he wants and go home – without fear of being bulldozed. Basel cannot.

"No Other Land" is being released in theaters on 2/7/2025.