Yuval Abraham

Yuval Abraham
Born	1995 Beersheba, Israel
Occupation(s)	Investigative journalist, filmmaker, translator
Known for	Co-director of the 2024 documentary No Other Land

Yuval Abraham (; born 1995) is an Israeli investigative journalist, filmmaker, and translator fluent in Arabic and Hebrew. He achieved global acclaim as co-director of the 2024 documentary No Other Land, which won an Academy Award and examines the Israel Defense Forces alongside settler violence in the West Bank. Abraham also gained attention for his pro-equality remarks at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.

Biography

Residing in Jerusalem, Abraham was born in Beersheba, Israel, into a middle-class family with both Mizrahi Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. His Yemenite Jewish grandfather was proficient in Palestinian Arabic, while his lineage includes Holocaust survivors who endured Italian concentration camps. At age 19, he was briefly enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Corps but departed after one week due to political and personal disagreements. Subsequently, he served a short term as a quartermaster in the Air Force before discharge. Following military service, he volunteered for two years teaching in Israeli and Palestinian schools.

Abraham acquired Arabic language skills and developed close ties with Palestinians living in the West Bank, including stays with families impacted by IDF home demolitions, experiences that shaped his critical perspective on Israel’s military occupation. Additionally, he has been involved in language instruction, focusing on Arabic education.

In 2019, Abraham collaborated with London-based journalist Ahmed Alnaouq from the Gaza writers' collective We Are Not Numbers (WANN) to establish Across the Wall, a platform dedicated to translating Palestinian narratives into Hebrew. The initiative aims to humanize Palestinians and challenge prevailing Israeli discourse. The website attracted over one million visitors in 2021 but suspended activities in November 2023 after Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 23 of Alnaouq’s relatives.

As of 2024, Abraham contributes reports to independent media outlets such as +972 Magazine and Local Call, describing these platforms as venues where he utilizes his societal privilege to highlight systemic injustices, including documentation of Palestinian home demolitions and refugee conditions in Jenin. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and The Nation, alongside appearances on Democracy Now! and CNN. He has collaborated with Social TV as well.

No Other Land

Abraham co-directed and appeared in the documentary No Other Land alongside Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. The film centers on Adra’s resistance against Israeli settler violence and forced displacement in Masafer Yatta. Although initially activists and journalists without prior filmmaking expertise, the group spent five years producing the documentary using footage that included family videos from Adra’s household. The narrative juxtaposes Adra’s life under occupation with Abraham’s relative freedom.

The film premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February 2024, where it received both the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award.

During his acceptance speech, Abraham urged for a ceasefire in Gaza and denounced what he termed "apartheid" and inequality experienced between himself and Adra under the West Bank occupation. This statement provoked allegations of antisemitism from segments of Israeli media as well as German politicians such as Kai Wegner. After receiving death threats and facing a right-wing group searching his family residence in Israel, Abraham decided to cancel his planned return flight.

He condemned attempts to weaponize accusations of antisemitism to silence Israelis advocating for a ceasefire, criticized German political figures involved, and voiced concerns regarding Adra’s safety amid violent settler activity. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for protective measures for Abraham and his family. In an interview on Israeli television, Abraham acknowledged criticism about not referencing Israeli hostages held in Gaza during his speech; he stated that he would include them if given another chance and emphasized that advocating for a ceasefire ultimately serves those hostages’ interests as well.

External links

• Archive of articles at +972 Magazine