The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the Oscars, has addressed the attack on award-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal by Israeli settlers, but stopped short of naming him.
In a letter addressed to members on Thursday, president Janet Yang and chief executive Bill Kramer said the Academy "condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints". However, as to addressing "social, political and economic events", they said that it was "important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints".
The statement came a day after Israeli director Yuval Abraham, who shares co-directing credits with Ballal on the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, criticised the Academy for its silence on the attack.
"Sadly, the US Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal [after] he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers," Abraham posted on X on Wednesday. "The European Academy voiced support, as did countless other award groups and festivals. Several US Academy members – especially in the documentary branch – pushed for a statement, but it was ultimately refused.
"We were told that because other Palestinians were beaten up in the settler attack, it could be considered unrelated to the film, so they felt no need to respond," Abraham added.
Ballal and two other Palestinians were arrested by Israeli authorities on Monday evening after more than a dozen settlers stormed his home village of Susya in Masafer Yatta. Ballal suffered injuries to his head and stomach, Abraham said.
The three were released on Tuesday afternoon from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. Ballal, who had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes, told reporters soldiers and settlers beat him and threatened him with guns. “The soldiers shot three times in the air,” he said. He was blindfolded and had his hands tied while in detention and made to sit under the air conditioning.
“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us,” co-director Basel Adra, who was at the scene, told AP. “This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment.”
The global film industry was quick to condemn the attack and arrest. The Berlin Film Festival, where No Other Land had its premiere and won best documentary last year, called the incident “very distressing”.
“Our thoughts are with Hamdan,” the festival posted on its Instagram account. “The wellbeing and the security of our alumni filmmakers concerns the Berlinale community and we call for his safe return to friends and family."
The US-based International Documentary Association, which also honoured No Other Land last year, posted a message on Instagram demanding Ballal’s immediate release.
It was Abraham who posted the Academy's letter on X. "After our criticism, the Academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault," he shared.
No Other Land has won numerous awards since its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival last year. But the Palestinian-Israeli co-production, which follows the struggles faced by residents of Masafer Yatta as they try to protect their homes from Israeli settlers, has struggled to find a major distributor in the US.
Dubai film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which acquired the film's rights for the Mena region, is set to release it on April 1.
