Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenships of Israeli documentary directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their film NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
Zohar made the threat on social media on Sunday following the award. He called the 80-minute documentary “shocking” and accused its makers of “betraying the state”. He cited Israel’s Citizenship Law, which permits citizenship to be revoked for a “breach of allegiance to the State of Israel”.
“The self-loathing that burns in the creators, who are willing to harm their homeland just to get applause from antisemites around the world, is inconceivable and constitutes a betrayal of the state,” Zohar said.
He added: “As Minister of Culture, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for betraying the state”.
It is unclear whether Zohar’s proposed action has legal standing or whether it has support from other Israeli officials. Abraham and Szor had not responded publicly to the threat in the information available.
NAZA premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 10, 2026, with both directors attending. Its title refers to the Hebrew military acronym for collateral damage. The film received a 25-minute standing ovation at the festival before receiving the Special Jury Prize.
The documentary was produced by the UK’s Guardian newspaper. It includes interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers or officers, and examines artificial intelligence-powered systems used by the Israeli army to select targets during the bombardment of Gaza.
One interview subject says approval was granted for an attack expected to kill 500 people in pursuit of a single human target. The brief account does not provide further details of the targeting systems or the circumstances of the alleged approval.
The film has attracted support from more than 700 members of the film industry, alongside controversy over its portrayal of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Abraham and Szor won an Oscar last year for No Other Land, a documentary about violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Their latest film has placed their work at the centre of a dispute between a senior Israeli minister and filmmakers documenting the conduct of the war.
The Gaza war followed the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. More than 73,000 Palestinians, including more than 20,000 children, have been killed in the Israel Defense Forces campaign, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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