Setting the record straight about Hayim Katsman and the movie, “No Other Land”

Setting the record straight about Hayim Katsman and the movie, “No Other Land”

On Wednesday, Israel365 News published an article about the movie “No Other Land” winning an Oscar. The article incorrectly stated that Hayim Katsman, an American-Israeli peace activist and academic, worked on the film. 

This inaccuracy was widely posted on social media to emphasize the one-sidedness of the movie, which purported to be a documentary. The filmmakers were criticized for not including Katsman in the credits.

In fact, Katsman was not involved in the making of the film. While co-director Yuval Avraham mentioned in an interview that he knew Katsman, he never claimed that he was involved in making the film.

While this may seem like a minor detail, the motive behind falsely associating Katsman with the film was to emphasize that the film ignored Palestinian violence, most notably the Oct. 7 massacre. 

Indeed, in his acceptance speech, Avraham acknowledged that the Israeli hostages must be freed while also recognizing the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza. While Avraham did state in previous interviews that he knew Katsman, he never claimed that he was involved in the film.

Hayim’s mother, Hannah Wacholder Katsman, published a Facebook post correcting the misinformation:

“Yesterday, in a thread in a private group about the Oscar award to No Other Land, I shared that my son Dr. Hayim Katsman z”l visited Masfar Yata, the village where the documentary was filmed, and included a picture of him in the village.

“Someone shared the picture on Instagram, and included a nasty comment about how Hamas killed peace activists as well.

“Others used her post, and an interview with filmmaker Yuval Avraham in which Hayim is mentioned as someone he knew who was killed on October 7, to criticize the filmmakers for not mentioning Hayim “who helped make the film” in their speech at the Oscars. This went viral. Some posts have been edited or taken down, but screenshots are still out there.

“As far as I know, Hayim z”l was not involved in making “No Other Land,” and there is no need to be outraged on his behalf.

“And whoever used the picture I shared in a private group, without permission, to denigrate murdered peace activists, and whoever uses language like “but Hamas killed them anyway,” shame on you.”

Hannah was kind enough to reach out to Israel365 News and confirm that, to the best of her knowledge, her son was not involved in making the film.

While criticism of the movie is accepted as political dialogue, such dialogue must be based on truth and mutual respect. 

The post Setting the record straight about Hayim Katsman and the movie, “No Other Land” appeared first on Israel365 News.

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