Israel's Culture Minister, Miki Zohar, said he will move to strip Israeli citizenship from Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of the documentary "NAZA," accusing them of "treason against the state" after the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
"I will act immediately to remove Israeli citizenship" from Abraham and Szor, Zohar wrote in a post on X.
The minister accused the two filmmakers of seeking to "harm their homeland in order to receive the applause of antisemites around the world," saying their conduct amounted to treason against the state.
Other members of the Israeli government also targeted the directors. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attacked them on X, writing that they were "a shame and a source of embarrassment for the entire people of Israel" and telling them to "get out." The far-right minister went further, saying he was certain their friends, meaning Hamas in Gaza, "will welcome you with open arms."
Abraham and Szor are investigative journalists who previously worked together on "No Other Land," the Oscar-winning 2024 documentary about violence by Israeli authorities and settlers in the occupied West Bank.
When Israeli citizenship can be revoked
Revoking citizenship is allowed under Israeli law, though it is rarely applied. Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the state can strip citizenship from people found to lack "loyalty," including in cases of espionage or treason.
The legal framework was expanded in 2023 to also cover people convicted of "terrorism." Starting such a process requires a request from the Interior Minister, approval from the Justice Minister, and then ratification by the courts.
What the documentary NAZA reports
The 80-minute film is built around anonymous testimony from 24 members of the Israeli military and intelligence services, who describe how Israeli operations in Gaza function and allege that large numbers of civilians are killed during strikes on Hamas targets.
According to the testimony presented in the film, various technological systems, including tools using artificial intelligence, allowed Israeli forces to locate through mobile phones people suspected of being Hamas members, along with their families, before strikes were carried out on their homes.
The meaning behind the title NAZA
According to the film, its title comes from an acronym used inside the Israeli military to describe the estimated number of civilians expected to be killed in a strike.
One of the witnesses says soldiers have access to a tool that can show, for any residence in Gaza, how many people are inside it and, as a result, how many might be harmed in the event of a bombing.
Reaction at the Venice Film Festival
The screening of "NAZA" at the Venice Film Festival drew an intense reaction from the audience, with the film receiving a prolonged standing ovation lasting roughly 25 minutes.
After the screening, the Israeli army "categorically" rejected the allegations made in the documentary about the mass killing of civilians in Gaza, defending the way it conducts its military operations.
