No other land

The audience at the Academy Awards was happy to clap when the Palestinian director of “No Other Land” accused Israel of ethnic cleaning.

But then, that audience has been known to clap indiscriminately. To be a good audience.

For example, in 2022, during the Academy Awards, Will Smith punched Chris Rock, the presenter, on live television during the ceremony because Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, calling her “GI Jane.”

It seemed like a joke. But then Will Smith called out to Chris Rock, “Don’t you talk about my wife.”

Later, when Will Smith won an award for best actor, did the Hollywood audience boo him off of the stage? No, they all clapped wildly for him. The fact that he had assaulted Chris Rock on stage didn’t matter to them. Will Smith cried while he received his award, thus seeming contrite about his act of violence — without actually apologizing.

In Israel, we know real violence. We, unfortunately, are living with the consequences of appalling violence in the aftermath of October 7th, when a mob of Hamas terrorists invaded our country, murdering children in front of their parents, parents in front of their children, whole families. As the terrorists murdered, they filmed in glee. As they took hundreds of hostages, they enjoyed themselves, a documentary of true depravity. Their cruelty and barbarism, their absolute delight in murder stunned the world. For a few days. Then the media and most of the world went back to Israel-bashing.

I don’t expect much from Hollywood. So I’m not surprised that this year, they awarded  “No Other Land” an Academy Award. The poor Palestinian director preached his lack of freedom, while he somehow managed to make a movie and flew — undoubtedly first class — to get to Hollywood.

What I do care about is the Israeli co-director, who ostensibly provided balance by uttering a few words about the hostages who are still in Gaza. Yet he could not bring himself to say a word about Hamas terror or October 7th, to denounce Hamas.

But as SY Agnon says in his story, “Feibush, the Petty Thief,” there is no suffering that comes to Israel that does not have the mouth of a Jew in the midst of it.

You will rarely see a Palestinian break ranks and denounce his people. It is, of course, the Jews who feel free to criticize themselves, to endanger our standing and delegitimize us to the delight of the audience at the Oscars.

That is in fact one of our strengths. We allow dissent. We allow freedom.

Hamas, in contrast, would probably murder you if you break rank. If you rebel. If you have another voice. If you refuse to be a human shield. If you refuse to hide hostages. They beat their people into submission. But nobody is making a documentary about that, are they?