‘And the Oscar Goes to… The Art of Deception’

I didn’t decide to write this post simply out of total disgust over the Academy’s decision to reward No Other Land with an Oscar—though that would be perfect reason enough. The real push came from an unexpected conversation at a local Cambridge, MA coffee shop, sparked by nothing more than the hoodie I was wearing, which bore the insignia of the IDF.

An elderly couple, likely in their late 80s, approached me on the way out of the coffee shop, visibly displeased. The woman pointed at the logo and told me, “You should not be wearing something like this, honey.” I was very surprised that she called me “honey” and instead of reacting, I stepped outside with them, intrigued by what they had to say.

As I sipped on my coffee I felt my blood beginning to boil and before I had a chance to say anything, they introduced themselves as having come from what they called “the country that does not exist—Palestine.” They immigrated to the US in 1978 from the “occupied” West Bank. As we spoke, they asked why I wore the hoodie. I explained my unwavering support for Israel and told them, without hesitation, “I am as Zionist as they come.”

The woman surprised me with her response: “I respect that, but we are against the occupation.”

Then she added, “All we want is to live in freedom, but Israeli government is not making it possible.”

I responded with facts and only facts: Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005—giving the Palestinians complete autonomy, only for them to elect Hamas, a terrorist organization, into power. I reminded her that Palestinian leadership promotes Jew-hatred in their schools, on their television channels, and in their political rhetoric. I asked how she could justify this reality if “all they want is peace.”

Her response? “But… occupation…”

No matter how many historical examples I continued to present—Israeli peace offers, land concessions, the violent rejectionism of Palestinian leaders—her answer never changed. It was as if she had been programmed with a single word. “Occupation.”

Then, her husband interjected, saying something that stuck with me: “We should not be looking back at bad history and all our problems but we should close that chapter and move forward.”

But how does one move forward without acknowledging the past? Without addressing the historical truth of Jewish indigeneity in the land? Without recognizing the continuous violence that has resulted not from Israeli policies, but from the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to accept a Jewish state in any borders? Who do we move forward with?

And that’s when both of them, with smiles on their faces, said with near-reverence, “You should watch No Other Land, it received an Oscar, What a wonderful film!”

This conversation was, despite our deep ideological divide, one of the most interesting and meaningful discussions I’ve had in a long time. There was no shouting, no hostility—just three individuals with starkly different worldviews trying to understand each other. But the strangest moment came at the very end.

When I decided to conclude our discussion, expecting the usual cold parting from political adversaries, something completely unexpected happened. They both shook my hand. Then, they gave me a hug.

In that moment, I saw something I rarely see in these debates—a flicker of human connection beneath all the rhetoric. Perhaps even a silent acknowledgment that, despite their refusal to accept my arguments, they understood that I wasn’t speaking out of hatred, but out of deep-rooted conviction.

That conversation made something abundantly clear: This Oscar-winning documentary is not just a film—it’s a weapon of propaganda. It exists to reinforce the selective memory and deeply fixed narratives of people like this couple, who dismiss historical realities in favor of convenient, oversimplified slogans. It’s not about truth. It’s about validation—feeding into a worldview that ignores terrorism, erases Jewish suffering, and promotes the idea that Israel is inherently at fault, no matter what.

A Film Built on Deception

At its core, No Other Land is a deliberate distortion of reality. It omits crucial historical facts, presenting a one-dimensional view of a complex conflict. There is no mention of Israel’s numerous offers of peace—each met with waves of Palestinian violence, including suicide bombings, intifadas, and Hamas rocket attacks. It conveniently sidesteps the fact that Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, granting Palestinians self-rule—only for them to elect Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that has since transformed Gaza into a terror launchpad.

The film does not acknowledge the thousands of Israelis murdered in terrorist attacks. It does not tell the stories of the hundreds of thousands of Jews expelled from Arab lands. It completely ignores the deep-rooted Jewish connection to the land, dating back thousands of years. Most disturbingly, No Other Land refuses to confront the atrocities of October 7, 2023—when Hamas terrorists carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Hollywood, predictably, remains silent about this.

Hollywood’s Betrayal of Its Own Legacy

This isn’t just about one film—it’s about an entire industry that has abandoned truth in favor of ideological activism. The hypocrisy is staggering. The very industry built by Jewish refugees—men like Carl Laemmle, Adolph Zukor, and the Warner brothers, who fled persecution—has turned its back on their legacy.

Hollywood has conveniently forgotten that it was Louis B. Mayer, a Jewish immigrant from Belarus, who founded the Academy Awards. The institution that once celebrated artistic excellence has devolved into a platform for spreading anti-Israel rhetoric. Mayer, who built MGM and helped define the golden age of cinema, would be appalled to see the Academy rewarding one-sided propaganda while ignoring Jewish suffering.

These Jewish pioneers built Hollywood as a place where the persecuted could tell their stories. And yet today, Hollywood spits in their faces, embracing anti-Israel narratives while cozying up to regimes and ideologies that would have persecuted those very same Jewish pioneers.

Conclusion: The Academy’s Moral Decay

No Other Land is not a documentary—it is a carefully crafted weapon of propaganda. Its Oscar win is not a triumph of storytelling, but a damning indictment of Hollywood’s moral decay.

History will remember where people stood in these moments. And Hollywood’s complicity in spreading falsehoods while ignoring Jewish suffering will not be forgotten.

As I continue to work on my next documentary, Ashes of Identity, I cannot help but think how different the industry would be if voices like mine were allowed to challenge the status quo. But the Academy does not tolerate anything pro-Israel—only narratives that fit their fashionable activism. That is why supporting independent filmmakers is crucial. Ashes of Identity will expose the truths Hollywood ignores—stories of resilience, survival, and the fight against antisemitism. With your support, we can ensure that by 2026, the Academy will have better choices—films that portray reality rather than distort it.