Israeli minister threatens to strip 'NAZA' filmmakers of citizenship
Israel's culture minister has threatened to revoke the citizenship of documentary filmmakers who won a special jury prize at Venice for a film on Gaza civilian deaths. Israel's military has rejected the film's claims.
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has said he will move to strip filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of their Israeli citizenship after their documentary won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film, titled "NAZA" — reportedly a Hebrew acronym used for counting the estimated number of civilians expected to be killed in a military strike — focuses on Israeli airstrikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Israel's military denies deliberately targeting civilians.
Ministers' reaction
Writing on X, Zohar accused the filmmakers of being willing to harm their homeland just to win applause from antisemites worldwide, and said he would act immediately to revoke their citizenship for treason against the state. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right figure, also posted on X, describing the pair as a disgrace and an embarrassment to Israel. Stripping citizenship is legally possible in Israel, with the Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that the state may revoke nationality over acts of disloyalty such as espionage or treason.
What the film shows
For "NAZA," Abraham and Szor conducted nighttime interviews on Tel Aviv rooftops with 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel. Those interviewed described AI-powered targeting systems used in Israel's offensive on Gaza, launched in response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel. According to figures from Gaza officials, regarded by the UN as broadly reliable, more than 73,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes since the operation began. Abraham said the intelligence officers interviewed described the mass killing as systemic rather than accidental, rooted in policies based on the dehumanization of Palestinians. The Israeli military has rejected the film's allegations, criticizing its reliance on anonymous testimonies and saying the identities of the whistleblowers could not be verified.
