Israeli Minister Threatens to Strip Citizenship of Gaza Documentary Filmmakers

Tel Aviv: Israel's Culture Minister Miki Zohar has called for the Israeli citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to be revoked, accusing them of treason after their documentary "NAZA" won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

The 80-minute film, produced by the Guardian, takes its title from a military acronym used by Israeli intelligence to describe the number of civilian deaths considered acceptable collateral damage in an airstrike on Gaza.

In the documentary, Abraham and Szor interview 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers who describe the AI-assisted targeting systems used in the bombardment of Gaza. One source in the film alleges that approval was given for up to 500 civilian deaths to eliminate a single Hamas target. Interviewees spoke anonymously, with their voices and faces altered, and were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv.

The film received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere, a festival record, before winning its prize on Saturday. Writing on social media, Zohar called the win "shocking" and said the directors' willingness to damage their country for international praise amounted to a "betrayal of the state," vowing to act to revoke their citizenship. Other Israeli officials, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also condemned the filmmakers.

Abraham and Szor previously co-directed "No Other Land" with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, which won the 2025 Oscar for best documentary and depicted settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Abraham's family home was reportedly targeted by a mob after that film's premiere.