‘NAZA’: Israel’s culture minister threatens to revoke citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

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Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor pose with the Special Jury Award for ‘Naza’ during the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to pursue the revocation of Israeli citizenship for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the filmmakers behind NAZA , after their documentary about Israel’s genocide in Gaza won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival . Zohar described the film as “treason against the state” in a post on X and said he would act to revoke the filmmakers’ citizenship.

NAZA , which runs for 80 minutes, was directed by Abraham and Szor, who were among the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land . The film features testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders, whose identities were digitally concealed, about the systems used to identify and strike targets in Gaza.

The documentary takes its title from an Israeli military acronym referring to expected civilian casualties in an airstrike. Its subjects describe surveillance and targeting systems that they say were used to identify potential Hamas targets, including the use of artificial intelligence and extensive telecommunications data. One interviewee claims that approval could be given for an attack expected to kill hundreds of civilians in order to target a single Hamas member.

NAZA received a 24-minute standing ovation following its Venice premiere and subsequently won the festival’s Special Jury Prize. The film was the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion.

הזכייה של הסרט הנבזי נז״א בפסטיבל ונציה מזעזעת. השנאה העצמית היוקדת של היוצרים שמוכנים לפגוע במולדתם כדי לקבל מחיאות כפיים מהאנטישמים בעולם בלתי נתפסת ומהווה בגידה במדינה. זו בדיוק הסיבה שהובלתי את הרפורמה החשובה בקולנוע כדי שאזרחי ישראל לא ישלמו יותר מכיסם על הפגיעה בחיילי צה״ל…

Zohar condemned the filmmakers for what he described as harming Israel to receive international acclaim. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also attacked Abraham and Szor, while former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described the film as a “blood libel.”

The Israeli military has categorically rejected the allegations presented in the documentary. The IDF criticised the film’s reliance on anonymous sources, saying their identities and military roles could not be independently verified. It also said that decisions concerning the selection and approval of strikes are made by human personnel rather than artificial intelligence.

A citizenship revocation cannot be carried out by Zohar alone. Israeli law permits citizenship to be revoked in certain cases involving disloyalty, including espionage or treason, but the procedure requires action by other government officials and judicial approval. The power has rarely been used.

The threat comes after Abraham and Szor faced international attention for No Other Land , which won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.