Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's documentary "NAZA" won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on September 12, after a 25-minute standing ovation — the longest in the festival's recorded history. The film draws on interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence sources who allege the military factored in mass civilian deaths when planning strikes in Gaza. The IDF has rejected the claims, saying strike decisions are made by "human personnel only" and that the film's anonymous sources can't be verified. Two days after the award, Culture Minister Miki Zohar said he'd move to strip the directors of their Israeli citizenship, and the country's political class piled on from both sides of the aisle.

1. Officials Call the Film Treason (Miki Zohar, Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Most of the Opposition)

They say the film's core claim is a fabrication, and putting it on an international stage crosses a line criticism can't excuse.

A government minister wants their citizenship gone. On September 14, Zohar posted that he would "act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state," calling the film "vile" and accusing Abraham and Szor of "searing self-hatred." He's formally asked authorities to examine treason charges and citizenship revocation, though he can't do either alone — Israeli law requires the interior minister to request it, the justice minister to approve it, and a judge to sign off, and none of that has happened yet.

The military opened its own investigation. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered a Military Advocate General probe into the film on September 14, saying it "is based on blood libels, deliberate distortions of reality, and grave, false accusations."

This reached the top of the government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted Monday that "we are fighting global antisemitic incitement, and when it comes from within us it is intolerable." National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told the directors bluntly that Hamas "will welcome you."

Opposition figures are condemning the film too. Benny Gantz, chair of the Blue and White party, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF Chief of Staff, both criticized it — Gantz said the filmmakers "have never set foot in the battlefield," and Eisenkot called it "damage to the State of Israel in a time of distress." Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman also condemned it.

2. But the Directors Call It Journalism Under Attack (Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, and The Guardian)

They point to three years of reporting inside Israel's military and say the government's harsh response only proves their point.

His critics haven't watched the film, he says. Accepting the Venice prize, Abraham said it's "not very easy to stand here, thinking of all the Israeli politicians and journalists who are now attacking this film and denying it without even seeing it."

He wants Israelis specifically to see it. Abraham has said "the denial of a crime is what helps it persist," which is why it matters to him that Israeli audiences watch NAZA rather than dismiss it.

The film's co-producer calls the government's response authoritarian. The Guardian, credited as co-producer, said NAZA "is based on more than three years of investigative journalism" and that "the testimonies it contains are true and we believe they deserve to be heard," pledging to "robustly defend 'NAZA' — and the team behind it — from any attacks or attempts at censorship."

3. Still, One Lawmaker Says the Citizenship Threat Itself Is the Real Scandal (MK Naama Lazimi)

One opposition lawmaker says forget the film — a minister threatening to strip citizenship is the real story.

She didn't defend the film. She attacked Zohar instead. The Democrats lawmaker said of his citizenship push: "That's the madness in its ultimate form — honestly, you don't need 'hasbara terror attacks' when you have ministers like that." Lazimi isn't arguing about whether NAZA's claims hold up. She says a minister vowing to strip citizenship over a documentary is the bigger problem.

Where This Lands

Zohar, Netanyahu, and a bipartisan chunk of Israel's political class call NAZA a fabrication that crossed into betrayal. They've opened a military probe and a citizenship-revocation request over it. Abraham, Szor, and The Guardian call that response censorship dressed up as law enforcement. They say three years of on-record testimony doesn't disappear just because officials are angry. Lazimi cuts across both sides — she isn't vouching for the film, she's warning about a minister who thinks he can revoke citizenship over one. None of the legal machinery — interior minister, justice minister, a judge — has moved yet, so the fight is still entirely about words.

Sources