Today, we're discussing the Oscar-Award winning documentary film, No Other Land, with First Generation Palestinian social justice activist, writer, speaker, and educator, Muna Najib.

No Other Land is a documentary that centers Palestinian activist Basel Adra, who records the destruction of his hometown, Masafer Yatta in the Occupied West Bank, by Israeli forces aiming to turn the area into a military training zone; the film highlights the harsh reality of displacement faced by Palestinians, with Adra documenting the demolitions of homes, schools, and the filling of water wells with cement, all while forming an unlikely bond with Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham who helps him document his struggle against the occupation.

The film is co-directed by Palestinians and Israelis, Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. No Other Land was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars back in February this year and still doesn’t have a US distributor. In more recent news, on top of the genocide that continues to unfold in Palestine perpetuated by the Israeli government—and by extension the United States as well as other Western powers—Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli citizens and is now currently recovering. “Israel” has continued to bombard Gaza and arm its citizens terrorizing Palestinians living in the West Bank—including Masafer Yatta—on top of committing many additional war crimes against the Palestinians.

Please note that the events in the film happen before October 2023. It’s all part of a larger campaign to occupy and ethnically cleanse Indigenous Palestinians from their lands.

SO, if you haven’t watched the film already, it's now available to stream at https://supportmasaferyatta.com until May 9 as part of a fundraiser. We encourage you to donate, watch it and then come back to listen to our podcast. From here on out though, we’ll be discussing the film in depth so SPOILERS AHEAD and as always, you have been warned.

Muna Najib is a first-generation Palestinian social justice activist, writer, speaker and educator. She has been advocating and teaching about Palestine and other marginalized communities for well over a decade. She is a graduate of University at Buffalo with a degree in English, Third world literature and African American studies. She believes in fighting for full land back for all indigenous peoples which includes Palestine’s full liberation and sovereignty from the river to the sea.

Clip Referenced: https://youtu.be/3gzo7PiFiaM?si=JdoEpz-1O8UjPFDc&t=36

Links referenced in this episode:

• Our Voices Project: https://ourvoicesproject.com/
• Dogwoof Releasing: https://releasing.dogwoof.com/no-other-land
• Palestine Film Institute: palestinefilminstitute.org
• Witness Palestine Film Festival: https://wpff.us/
• Reel Bad Arabs (Documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxak6lFd-I
• Kanopy - Palestinian Films: https://www.kanopy.com/en/category/14590

Mentioned in this episode:

Our Voices Project - Land Acknowledgement

Mind of Magnus

Check out Mind of Magnus at magnusapollo.com, and leave him factoids at 585-310-2473!