Israel's culture minister has threatened to strip the citizenship of Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, accusing them of "treason against the state" following the premiere of their devastating documentary about civilian casualties in Gaza.
The film, titled NAZA, recently won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, receiving a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation. The documentary's title refers to an acronym used by Israel's intelligence service to denote the expected number of civilian deaths in an airstrike on Gaza.
In the 80-minute documentary, Abraham and Szor interview 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers. These sources detail the AI-powered targeting systems used in the bombardment of Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians. One whistleblower claimed that military approvals had been granted to allow up to 500 civilian deaths—referred to as "NAZA"—to target a single Hamas member.
The film provoked immediate outrage from Israeli government officials. Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, denounced the directors on the social media platform X, claiming they were prepared to "harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world." Zohar declared, "I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state."
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also attacked the filmmakers on X, calling them "a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel" and telling them to "go away." Ben-Gvir added, "I am certain that your friends, that is to say our enemies Hamas in Gaza, will welcome you with open arms."
Revoking nationality is legally possible in Israel under a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that allows the state to strip citizenship for a lack of "loyalty," such as espionage or treason. This framework was expanded in 2023 to include individuals convicted of "terrorism." The process requires the interior minister to submit a formal request, the justice minister to approve it, and judges to validate the decision.
The military responded to the documentary by stating it "categorically rejects" the claims made in NAZA. The Israel Defense Forces criticized the filmmakers' reliance on anonymous testimonies, arguing that the whistleblowers' identities "cannot be verified."
This is not the first time the filmmaking duo has faced backlash. Abraham and Szor, who won an Academy Award in 2025 for No Other Land, a film documenting Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, have previously dealt with hostile reactions. Following the 2024 premiere of No Other Land, a right-wing mob targeted Abraham's family home.
Reflecting on the dangers, Abraham said they are taking risks within a system that privileges them and is founded on "Jewish-Israeli supremacy." He contrasted their situation with that of Palestinians, noting that Palestinians face "US-funded bulldozers and weapons" rather than right-wing mobs. "Imagine if a Palestinian journalist in Gaza tried to do what we did and called up senior Israeli officials," Abraham said. "There is no comparison. They would most likely be murdered."
The ongoing conflict began when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,221 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. In the subsequent three years of Israeli bombardment, the Gaza health ministry has reported more than 73,000 deaths, with the vast majority being civilians.
The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at this year’s Venice film festival on Saturday, after receiving a 25-minute standing ovation – a festival record.
