Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced on Sunday that he intends to strip the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor following their documentary’s recent victory at the Venice Film Festival. The film, titled NAZA, explores allegations of genocide in Gaza and received the Special Jury Prize.
In a post on the social media platform X, Zohar described the documentary as “vile” and expressed shock at its recognition at the prestigious event. He accused the directors of betraying the nation in exchange for applause from what he characterized as antisemitic audiences globally.
“As culture minister, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state,” Zohar wrote, labeling their work as an act of treason.
According to the official synopsis from the Venice Film Festival, the 80-minute film details Israel’s deployment of artificial intelligence systems to carry out “calculated mass killings” of Palestinians. The documentary was met with a 25-minute standing ovation during its premiere screening.
The film includes anonymous testimony from current and former Israeli military and intelligence personnel. These insiders described an AI system known as “Lavender,” which monitors telecommunications between Palestinians in Gaza to identify targets for assassination.
Abraham stated that his primary goal in producing the documentary is to encourage Western governments to impose economic sanctions on Israel.
The standing ovation at Venice suggests deep international concern. Why are we punishing filmmakers instead of addressing the content?
I am honestly shocked the minister suggested such an extreme penalty. Does this not violate basic human rights principles?
Revoking citizenship for artistic expression? This feels like a dangerous precedent that undermines democratic values.