NAZA: Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship
The item centers on NAZA, an 80-minute documentary produced by the Guardian about what the excerpt describes as Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza, named for an acronym used by Israel's intelligence service to indicate how many civilians it expects to die in an airstrike on Gaza. Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke with 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who described AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard Gaza, which the film says have killed tens of thousands of civilians; one source claims approval was given to kill 500 NAZA in order to kill one Hamas member. The documentary won a special jury prize at this year's Venice film festival on Saturday after a 25-minute standing ovation, a festival record, and a NAZA director said after the win that it is important Israelis watch the film.
On Sunday, Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, accused the directors of being willing to harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world. He wrote on X that he would act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state. On Monday, Zohar expanded on the comments in a statement, saying he had written to the director general of the Population and Immigration Authority and the director general of the interior ministry asking them to examine the possibility of revoking the Israeli citizenship of the creators of the anti-Israel film NZA [sic] for breach of loyalty to the state and collaboration with the enemy. He also asked them to investigate how the materials used in the film were obtained, who was responsible for obtaining them, and whether any actions carried out in acquiring or disseminating them could amount to assisting the enemy during wartime. Zohar added that freedom of expression is not a licence to betray the state and that anyone who acts against Israel during a war must know there will be a price to pay.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the film, saying in a video posted on social media that it was shocking, that Israel is fighting global antisemitic incitement, and that when it comes from within Israel it is intolerable. He added that two Israeli directors portraying the IDF as war criminals had received applause at the Venice festival. Other Israeli ministers also took aim at the directors, who won an Oscar in 2025 for their film No Other Land about Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X that they were a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel and told them to go away, adding that he was certain their friends, meaning Israel's enemies Hamas in Gaza, would welcome them with open arms. On Monday, the chief of general staff of the Israeli military claimed the film was 'based on blo'—the excerpt cuts off there.