The organization that bestows the Academy Awards has apologized to “No Other Land” co-director Hamdan Ballal after mounting criticism following its response to the violent attack on the Oscar winner

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued an apology for its response to an attack on the Oscar-winning filmmaker Hamdan Ballal following pressure from voting members. Hundreds of Academy members have criticized the awards body for not acknowledging Ballal by name in its initial statement shared after the Palestinian director said he had been attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by soldiers in the West Bank earlier this week.