Politicians unite to attack directors of anti-Israel 'NAZA’ film, culture minister calls to revoke citizenship for ‘treason’

In a rare occurrence, Israeli politicians and leaders united on Sunday to slam the documentary film NAZA and its Israeli creators, who accused the Israeli military of purposefully killing civilians in the Gaza Strip, including with the assistance of an AI program.

After the film won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, Culture Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) accused the creators, Rachel Shor and Yuval Avraham, of “treason” and called for their Israeli citizenship to be revoked.

Politicians from across most of the political spectrum agreed on their rejection of the movie, highlighting that most Israeli leaders agree in principle on the broader security policies of the past few years and remain united in their support for the Israel Defense Forces.

However, several high-ranking officials from the far-left The Democrats Party defended the creators, citing the importance of creative freedom while avoiding defending the movie itself.

According to its synopsis, the documentary NAZA examines “the mechanisms behind the mass killing in Gaza” and is ostensibly based on testimony from 24 IDF soldiers and officers. The title is derived from the Hebrew military acronym for “collateral damage,” nezek agavi.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office officially rejected the movie’s claims, specifically disputing its allegation that the military planned or approved a strike in Gaza in which approximately 500 civilians were expected to be killed. “A strike in which the IDF expected that such a number of civilians, or even a number approaching it, would be killed, was never planned, approved or carried out.”

On Monday morning, IDF Intelligence Officer (res.) Amichai Atali also addressed the issue in an interview with 103FM Radio: “Never in my life have I seen that number of 500 non-combatants who could be harmed in a strike. Even if they want to damage the state's reputation, at least they should tell the truth.”

Zohar said in a morning statement that he had contacted the relevant officials “to examine the possibility of revoking the Israeli citizenship of the creators … on the grounds of breach of loyalty to the state and cooperation with the enemy, and to investigate how the materials were obtained, who is behind them, and whether, in obtaining or publishing them, any actions were taken that could assist the enemy during wartime.”

“Freedom of expression is not a license to betray the state. Anyone who acts against Israel during wartime should know that there will be a price to pay,” Zohar said.

While many opposition leaders, including Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, spoke out against the film, several politicians from the far-left Democrats party defended its creators while criticizing Zohar’s statement.

Mossi Raz, a veteran lawmaker and current No. 22 on the party’s slate, sent his “congratulations” to Shor and Avraham for “their important film,” arguing that it is “perfectly legitimate to disagree” but also noting that it is “essential to emphasize their right – and perhaps even their duty – to create.”

Gaby Lasky, No. 6 on The Democrats party list, claimed he had not seen the film, but said, “The violent discourse against creators must cease, [there shouldn’t be] silencing of creations that raise questions touching on values, which must be asked exactly out of the pain.”

Yaya Fink, who is No. 5 on the list, compared Shor and Avraham to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “If they want to revoke filmmakers’ citizenship, what do they propose for those who funded Hamas for years and refused to eliminate its leaders? And what is the punishment for the Qatari agents in his bureau?”

However, Fink, an active reserve soldier, also noted that he recently “completed a week-long IDF course on the subject of approvals in preparation for striking terrorists in a complex battlefield…A significant part of the course dealt with how to prevent or minimize harm to non-combatants and the amount of human approvals required for each strike.”

He stressed, “At least at the IDF systemic level, there is extensive engagement from the most senior figures in the military on how to strike those who need to be struck and not, heaven forbid, those who shouldn't. This of course doesn't mean there are no exceptions and mistakes on the battlefield, but this is the truth about what is taught and what is required in the IDF on the matter.”

Eisenkot, a former IDF chief and chairman of the Yashar party – currently the frontrunner to become the largest party in the October elections – said it was “moral blindness, a detachment from reality” for filmmakers to “present a distorted and one-sided picture, and cast moral aspersions on the fighters who are defending their home.”

Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz said, “The IDF holds itself to the highest moral and legal standard. As former IDF Chief of Staff & Minister of Defense, I can unequivocally attest to that. Anyone who lacks this basic understanding should just keep on making fiction!”

Bennett, head of the Together Party, wrote on 𝕏: “Our sons and daughters who put their lives at risk so that we can live here safely. I love them. I am proud of them. And I am deeply grateful to them. To portray them as perpetrators of ‘genocide’ is not courageous art. It is a cowardly blood libel.”

Yoseph Haddad, No. 2 on the new 'People of Israel' party list, said about Shor and Avraham, “They know that the formula for winning an international award is to make a film that smears the IDF. They received thunderous applause that lasted for many minutes. And the damage to the image of the State of Israel around the world? As far as they are concerned, that's just collateral damage.”

In March 2025, Avraham won an Oscar for the Israeli-Palestinian film “No Other Land,” which details the struggle of its creators, Basel Adra and Avraham, against the IDF's work to evict the residents of Masafer Yatta, a group of Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills.