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Israel's Culture Minister has threatened to pursue the removal of Israeli citizenship from filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, accusing them of "treason against the state" over their award-winning documentary Naza, which examines Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and alleges mass, systematic civilian killings.
Escalating the political backlash against the documentary a day after it won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the minister, Miki Zohar, accused the filmmakers of being willing to "harm their homeland in order to receive 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.
The far-right Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, also attacked the filmmakers, calling them "a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel" and telling them to "go away". He further suggested that Hamas would welcome them.
Naza, produced by UK newspaper The Guardian, takes its name from an acronym reportedly used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the expected number of civilian casualties from an airstrike. The 80-minute documentary is based on interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers who, according to the filmmakers, were involved in planning or operating systems used during the war in Gaza.
The film alleges that Israel's targeting practices have enabled mass civilian casualties. One source interviewed in the documentary claims that approval was given for an operation expected to kill 500 civilians in an effort to kill a single Hamas member. The film also examines the use of artificial intelligence and automated systems in Israel’s targeting process.
The documentary received a record 25-minute standing ovation following its premiere at Venice and won the Special Jury Prize on Saturday.
Abraham, who, along with Szor, won the 2025 Academy Award for No Other Land, said after the Venice award that Israeli intelligence officers interviewed for Naza described the killing of Palestinians as systematic rather than accidental.
"The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with told us that this mass killing is systemic. Not by accident. But by design," Abraham said.
He urged audiences in Israel and abroad to watch the film, saying it was particularly important for Israelis to confront allegations concerning their own country's actions.
Israel's military has categorically rejected the documentary's allegations, questioning the credibility and identities of its anonymous sources. The Israel Defence Forces said it could not verify whether the interviewees had served in the military, what positions they held or whether they had been involved in the operations they described.
The IDF also disputed the film's portrayal of its targeting procedures, saying decisions on the selection and approval of strikes are made by human personnel and "not by artificial intelligence". It said its operations target terrorist organisations, primarily Hamas, in accordance with international law and that it makes "unprecedented efforts" to minimise civilian harm.
The military further accused Hamas of embedding fighters and military infrastructure in civilian areas and said any suspected violations by Israeli soldiers are subject to investigation through its enforcement mechanisms.
The threat to revoke Abraham and Szor's citizenship comes amid heightened Israeli political criticism of filmmakers and journalists documenting the Gaza war. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that citizenship could, in certain circumstances, be revoked for a failure to demonstrate loyalty, including acts such as espionage or treason. Legislation was expanded in 2023 to cover people convicted of terrorism.
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Published On:
Sep 14, 2026 07:46 IST
