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Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced that he intends to act immediately to revoke the citizenship of Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, accusing the pair of treason over their documentary "NAZA."
In a post on X on Sunday night, Zohar criticized the documentary "NAZA," which won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival for its portrayal of Gaza killings. He said the directors' willingness to damage their own country to win praise from people hostile to Israel amounted to a betrayal of the state.
The 80-minute film features interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers, who describe the AI-powered targeting systems used by Israel to strike Gaza, systems the whistleblowers say have contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.
The documentary won the Special Jury Prize, one of the top honors awarded at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's leading film festivals, on Thursday. Its title comes from a military acronym used within the Israeli armed forces to describe collateral damage, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Zohar connected the planned move to a reform of the film industry that he previously championed, saying the change was meant to stop Israeli taxpayers from indirectly funding productions that criticize the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the state.
He reiterated that, in his role as culture minister, he would move to strip the two creators of their Israeli citizenship over what he called treason against the state.
Other Israeli officials also criticized the directors.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X that the filmmakers were a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel, and added that he was certain their friends, referring to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, would welcome them with open arms.
Abraham and Szor previously won an Oscar in 2025 for their film "No Other Land," which documented Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Revoking citizenship is legally possible in Israel, though it is rarely applied. In 2022, the Supreme Court confirmed that the state may strip a person of their nationality if they fail to demonstrate loyalty, including through acts such as espionage or treason.
The law was expanded in 2023 to apply to people convicted of terrorism as well. Under the process, the interior minister must submit the revocation request, the justice minister must approve it, and judges must validate it before it can take effect.
Abraham defended the documentary, saying that the Israeli intelligence officers interviewed for the film described the mass killing in Gaza as systemic rather than accidental, calling it the result of policies rooted in what he described as the dehumanization of Palestinians.
The Israeli military has pushed back against the documentary, saying on Friday that the identities of the anonymous whistleblowers featured in the film cannot be verified. Israel denies that it deliberately targets civilians.
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