The Israeli Culture Minister has announced intentions to revoke the citizenship of Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor due to their controversial documentary, NAZA, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film features testimonies from Israeli military officers describing alleged protocols for targeting civilians in Gaza, highlighting the issue of civilian casualties.
The minister, Miki Zohar, criticized the film as “vile” and accused its creators of treason. He reiterated reforms in Israeli film funding, aimed at diverting public money away from independent films that scrutinize Israeli military actions, directing support instead towards more commercially viable productions.
In his Venice acceptance speech, Abraham defended the film by noting attacks from politicians and journalists who had not seen it, stressing that the realities of civilian casualties have been documented since the start of the conflict.
Moreover, like their previous film No Other Land, NAZA received no Israeli public funding, with support coming from international sources such as The Guardian. The film is not yet distributed in Israel, but the filmmakers intend to release it widely, aiming to spark discussions among Israeli audiences.
This critique from Zohar isn’t unprecedented; he previously condemned No Other Land after it won an Oscar, positioning the reforms and his stance as an effort to shift narratives in Israeli cinema.
