Israeli documentary NAZA sparks citizenship revocation calls

Israeli documentary "NAZA," directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on September 13 after a reported 25-minute standing ovation. The 80-minute film features anonymous testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel describing operations in Gaza.

Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced plans to revoke the directors' Israeli citizenship, accusing them of treason and damaging the state for "applause from antisemites." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the move, pledging to introduce Knesset bills to strip citizenship from anyone who "defames IDF soldiers" and increase defamation damages twentyfold.

“We believe that the denial of a crime is what helps it persist, and this is why it is especially important for us that Israelis watch this film; it is our country that is doing these crimes.”

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the military to examine legal action against the filmmakers, citing potential leaks of classified material. Zamir convened senior commanders to address what he called "blood libels" and "deliberate distortion of reality" in the documentary.

The film alleges the IDF used an internal metric called "NAZA" — Hebrew military shorthand for acceptable collateral damage — with interviewees claiming thresholds reached 500 Palestinian casualties per strike. The IDF categorically rejects the allegations and questions the credibility of anonymous sources.

Over 1,500 film industry figures and 40 Israeli human rights organizations, including B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence, signed petitions supporting the directors. Prominent directors such as Nadav Lapid and Ari Folman warned the institutional response resembles "dictatorial regimes."

Israeli researchers from the Regavim Movement have scrutinized Abraham's past reporting, alleging he misrepresented a Gaza language center operator as a peace activist rather than a Hamas-affiliated militant. The film remains largely unseen inside Israel as distributors reassess release plans.