A heated debate has erupted at the University of Haifa over the planned screening of "No Other Land", a documentary that some students have labeled as anti-Israeli. The screening, scheduled for Thursday, is being organized by the university's student chapter of Standing Together.
"No Other Land" was created through a collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian journalists, including Basel Adra and Hamdan Bilal from the Palestinian side and Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor from the Israeli side. The documentary presents a bleak view of life in the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. Earlier this month, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Assa Buchnik, chair of the Im Tirtzu chapter at the University of Haifa, strongly condemned the planned event. "It is deeply disappointing that the university, instead of organizing events that honor our students who serve in the reserves and the brave IDF soldiers who fight every day, chooses to spit in their faces by hosting an event that accuses IDF soldiers of occupation and calls for sanctions against them," he said. "I call on the university administration to cancel this extreme event."
Buchnik added that it was unacceptable for the university to claim it supports reservists while simultaneously allowing an event that portrays IDF soldiers as murderers and occupiers. "This is not freedom of speech—it is incitement and hatred," he said.
Shai Glick, CEO of B'Tsalmo, also criticized the screening, calling it "a serious act that has no place in the University of Haifa." He added: "A university should be a place for balanced academic discourse, not a platform for false and offensive propaganda against Israel. We demand that the university immediately cancel the screening."
The trailer of No Other Land
Glick warned that if the event proceeds his organization will push for funding cuts to the university, file complaints with the Council for Higher Education, the police, the Film and Media Council, and the Knesset’s Education Committee. "Additionally, we will attend the event to expose the truth and show our support for IDF soldiers, the most moral army in the world. This film belongs in Birzeit University in Nablus, not in Israel," he said.
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Standing Together defended the screening. "The film showcases solidarity between Palestinians and Israelis who fight together against settler violence, so it makes sense that the government and its allies are afraid of it," the organization said in a statement.
The movement further argued that, as a university with both Jewish and Arab students, it is only natural that many would want to watch an Oscar-winning documentary and better understand the reality in the West Bank. "The student chapter of Standing Together will continue to promote open discussion on campus, encourage critical thinking, and resist attempts to silence those who advocate for peace and equality," the group said.
The University of Haifa responded to the controversy. "No request has been submitted to the university for the screening, as required. If a request is made, the matter will be reviewed, and the university will act according to regulations," the university said in a statement. "As an academic institution, the university is committed to upholding freedom of speech."