An Oscar for Israeli-Palestinian Film--As Newspaper Fires Editor for Cartoon

Great speeches and outrageous pressure.

Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books and now writer/director of three award-winning films aired via PBS, including “Atomic Cover-up” and “Memorial Day Massacre.” Now watch trailer for acclaimed 2025 film “The Atomic Bowl.” Before all that, he was a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy. At Blue Sky and Twitter: as @gregmitch. You can still subscribe to this newsletter for FREE. Sustain this newsletter by ordering one of his books.

There is probably much, too much, to say about last night’s endless Oscars’ show, and I will say very little of it. But let me focus on the win for “No Other Land” and the two acceptance speeches, by the key Israeli and Palestinian creators, a high point in the history of the Oscars.

Just yesterday here, I named “No Other Land” one of two best films of any type for 2024, and I’ve touted it here off and on for the past month after—somehow—watching it. Yes, I say “somehow,” because it has failed to gain a U.S. distributor after wide acclaim and showings around the world because of its sympathetic view of Palestinians suffering from Israel’s occupation and the violence of settlers in the West Bank. I was happy to hear fairly loud cheers in the hall during the speeches and no discernible boos. (Social media sleuths revealed that actor Guy Pearce was wearing a Free Palestine pin and shook the hands of the winners on their way to the podium.) I’ll leave it at that for now, but here is a video and some of the text of the speeches, via New York Times.

“When I look at Basel, I see my brother,” said Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist and one of the filmmakers, referring to his fellow director, the Palestinian activist Basel Adra, who had just spoken. “But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws, that destroy lives, that he cannot control.”

During his acceptance speech, Abraham seemed aware of the prominent stage he had. Calling for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that provides national rights for both peoples, he said, “I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path.”

Adra said that their film “reflects the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades and still resist, as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”

Also, confirming Neil Young/Daryl Hannah as current Best Celebrity Couple: She was the first (only one?) on the broadcast to offer a clear shout out for Ukraine.

A Gannett Loss

Speaking of the Israel-Palestine tragedy: As you know, if you have subscribed here for more than a minute, I carry editorial/political cartoons every day, from around the world (and see more down below). Every so often, including just last week, I pick up one by one of the elder statesmen of the syndicated genre, Jeff Danziger. But I don’t see every cartoon out there, nor every Danziger. I missed one of his about a month ago that I surely would have posted.

Yesterday we learned, via The New York Times, that the cartoon led to the ouster of the brave Florida editorial page director who chose to publish it.

First, here it is:

When I was the editor orf Editor & Publisher from 2001-2009 we knew The Palm Beach Post as one of the better smaller-sized daily papers in the country. Not sure what has happened since, but now Gannett (the largest newspaper chain and my employer way back when I was a summer reporter at my hometown Niagara Falls Gazette), has caved to pressure.

The cartoon set off a backlash in Palm Beach, including a rebuke from a local Jewish group that claimed the cartoon was antisemitic, resulting in a quick response from Gannett’s senior editors.

Mr. Doris said in an interview last week that the cartoon was antiwar, not antisemitic, adding that he thought Gannett’s senior editors lacked the fortitude to stand up for their journalists.

Doris, by the way, calls himself a Jewish supporter of Israel. Danziger happens to have a Jewish father and is a Vietnam veteran.

After the cartoon ran, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County bought a full-page ad in the following week’s Sunday newspaper condemning the cartoon.

In a statement, Gannett said that the cartoon “did not meet our standards,” adding that it “would not have been published if the proper protocols were followed.” The company did not say what those protocols were or comment on Mr. Doris’s termination, citing confidentiality.

Mr. Doris said he was fired the week after the meeting by a senior editor at Gannett who told him that he violated company policies. Mr. Doris said that the editor did not specify what those policies were and added that he was not paid any severance.

“I remain convinced that, as corny as it sounds, democracy needs journalists who care about the mission and not just about page views,” Mr. Doris said.

Putin Escalate