Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival for their documentary on Israeli airstrikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The documentary, titled “NAZA” — a Hebrew acronym referring to the estimated number of civilians expected to be killed in a military strike — features interviews with Israeli intelligence operatives involved in the attacks.
Israel’s military denies deliberately targeting civilians.
What did the culture minister and others say?
Zohar accused Abraham and Szor of being “willing to harm their homeland in order just to get applause from antisemites around the world.”
“I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state,” Zohar wrote on X.
Far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir also posted on the platform, calling the two filmmakers “a disgrace and an embarrassment” to Israel.
Israel’s Supreme Court confirmed in 2022 that the state may strip individuals of their nationality for acts of “disloyalty,” such as espionage or treason.
What does the film ‘NAZA’ show?
For “NAZA,” Abraham and Szor conducted nighttime interviews with 24 Israeli military or intelligence personnel on rooftops in Tel Aviv.
The interviewees provided details on the AI-powered targeting systems used during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel.
According to figures from Gaza officials, considered broadly reliable by the UN, more than 73,000 Palestinian people, including 20,000 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the operation began.
Abraham stated that “the Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us about how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design — actions of murder and policies based on the total dehumanization of Palestinians.”
The Israeli army has rejected allegations made in the 80-minute film, criticizing the use of anonymous testimonies and questioning whether the whistleblowers’ identities could be verified.
Edited by: Natalie Muller