Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has assured that he will work to revoke the nationality of the directors of the documentary Naza, which received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Festival on Saturday for showing the alleged Israeli strategy to destroy the Gaza Strip.
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“As Minister of Culture, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these vile creators for treason against the country,” Zohar said in a message on X about the filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Zohar accused the filmmakers of having a “burning self-destructive hatred” and of being “willing to harm their homeland to receive applause from the antisemites of the world,” which, according to him, “constitutes treason against the country.”
Ben Gvir, National Security Minister and Jewish supremacist, calls the filmmakers a “disgrace” to Israel
National Security Minister, far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, also said on X that Abraham and Szor “are a shame and a disgrace to the entire people of Israel.” “Disappear. I am sure that your friends, our enemies Hamas in Gaza, will welcome you with open arms,” Ben Gvir told the filmmakers.
The political offensive has been supported this week by the Army itself. The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, instructed Military Attorney General Itai Ofir on Monday to study legal actions against the film and its creators for defaming the IDF, and also ordered an investigation into the leak of classified material allegedly used in its production. “It is based on blood libels, a deliberate distortion of reality, and false and serious accusations against soldiers and commanders,” Zamir said, acknowledging he had not yet seen the full film.
The military chief maintained that the film “seeks to strip us of the legitimacy to defend ourselves” and ordered the creation of a multidisciplinary team to combat what he called “false and manipulative vilification, even if it receives sanctimonious applause.”
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Hours earlier, military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin had taken a more conciliatory tone and invited the directors to screen the full film before the IDF, which so far has only seen fragments spread on the internet, in order to respond “substantively” and not based on “distortions.”
The 80-minute film puts on the table the alleged strategy behind the massive and calculated massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by Israel. Its premiere in Venice on Thursday received overwhelming applause from the audience. Abraham and Szor were part of the team of the Oscar-winning No Other Land (2024). Their new project entered the race for the Golden Lion with applause after the festival accepted it at the last minute a week before its start.
The Israeli Army denies accusations of orchestrating bombings in Gaza using artificial intelligence
Naza, which gives the film its title, is the term used by Israeli commanders and intelligence services to refer to the “collateral victims” of the bombings that have devastated Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel carried out by Hamas. The number of victims in that enclave rises to more than 73,000, according to local authorities controlled by Hamas.
The Israeli Army (IDF) had already contradicted the documentary on Friday, stating in a communiqué that its decisions to bomb Gaza are always made by human personnel and not artificial intelligence, as detailed in the film based on testimonies from intelligence officers and soldiers. The IDF also categorically denies ever planning an attack with a forecast of 500 civilian deaths, one of the most serious accusations made in the film.
