Israeli Culture Minister Seeks to Revoke Citizenship of Award Winning Filmmakers
15 sources across 12 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Haaretz
- The Times of Israel
- The Jerusalem Post
- Der Spiegel
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Folha de S.Paulo
- La Tercera
- El Espectador
- Le Monde
- Corriere della Sera
- Aftenposten
- Al Jazeera
- El Pais
- Taipei Times
- The Guardian
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
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Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced on Sunday that he will work to revoke the citizenship of Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of the documentary NAZA. The filmmakers received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for their work, which alleges that the Israel Defense Forces used artificial intelligence systems to conduct systematic mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Zohar accused the creators of treason and stated they were willing to harm their homeland to receive applause from antisemites. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also criticized the directors, calling them a disgrace to the Israeli people and suggesting they would be welcomed by Hamas.
The documentary features anonymous testimonies from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel. It explains that the title NAZA is an acronym used by Israeli intelligence to refer to expected collateral damage, or civilian deaths, during airstrikes. The film received a standing ovation of approximately 25 minutes at its premiere. Abraham and Szor previously co directed No Other Land, a film about settler violence in the West Bank that won an Oscar in 2025.
The Israel Defense Forces categorically rejected the film's claims. Military officials stated that decisions regarding bombing targets are made by humans rather than AI and criticized the use of anonymous sources whose identities cannot be verified. Legal experts noted that while stripping citizenship is possible under Israeli law for acts of treason or terrorism, it is a rarely applied measure that requires approval from the interior and justice ministers as well as judicial validation.
Reporting on the event varied by political lean. Center left and left leaning outlets framed the story as a clash between artistic bravery and government suppression, emphasizing the film's revelations about systemic crimes. Center and center right outlets focused on the accusations of treason and the legal debate over citizenship. Far right perspectives, as cited in several reports, framed the filmmakers as traitors and agents of self hatred.
How each side framed it
- Left
- Emphasized the necessity of confronting the reality of the Gaza war and the importance of distributing the film within Israel.
- Centre-left
- Highlighted the systemic nature of the killings described in the film and the filmmakers' risks.
- Centre
- Presented the conflict as a dispute between the filmmakers' allegations and the government's accusations of disloyalty.
- Centre-right
- Focused on the accusations of treason and the potential legal mechanisms for revoking citizenship.
Sources
- Centre-right Aftenposten: Israeli minister wants to take citizenship from directors behind Gaza documentary: Treason against the state
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Israeli minister threatens to revoke filmmakers’ citizenship over Gaza film
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Israel, Ben Gvir against the directors of the film Naza awarded in Venice: "You are a shame". The Minister of Culture asks for the revocation of citizenship
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Israel: Ministers want to revoke citizenship of directors of Gaza documentary
- Centre-left El Espectador: Israel seeks to revoke citizenship of the filmmakers of «Naza» after award in Venice
- Centre-left El Pais: Israel's Minister of Culture threatens to withdraw citizenship from the two directors of the documentary 'NAZA', awarded in Venice
- Centre Folha de S.Paulo: Israel minister wants to remove nationality of filmmakers awarded in Venice
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Israel: Minister demands withdrawal of citizenship for directors
- Left Haaretz: Director of Gaza War documentary 'NAZA': We intend to distribute film in Israel
- Left Haaretz: Israel's culture minister threatens to revoke citizenship of Gaza doc filmmakers
- Left Haaretz: Israelis must watch 'NAZA' and confront the reality of Gaza
- Centre-right La Tercera: Israeli Culture Minister asks to withdraw nationality from filmmakers of the documentary on deaths in Gaza awarded in Venice
- Centre-left Le Monde: In Israel, the directors of "Naza", the documentary on Gaza awarded at the Mostra, accused of "treason"
- Centre-left Taipei Times: Israeli-made Gaza film wins Venice jury prize
- Centre-left The Guardian: Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA
- Centre-right The Jerusalem Post: Culture Minister calls to revoke citizenships of NAZA creators for 'act of treason' against Israel
- Centre The Times of Israel: Culture minister urges revoking citizenship of ‘NAZA’ film creators for ‘treason’
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