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Israel Probes Venice-Winning Gaza Documentary 'Naza' for Treason

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Israeli officials slam the award-winning documentary Naza and threaten treason charges against directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over its Gaza allegations.

Israeli officials have condemned a new documentary about the military's conduct in Gaza and are calling for legal action against the filmmakers and the people who spoke to them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday described the film, titled *Naza*, as "shocking" and accused it of forming part of a wave of anti-Semitic incitement.

The documentary, directed by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, alleges that large numbers of civilian deaths were routinely factored into the military's targeting decisions during the war in Gaza. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday and had drawn a 25-minute standing ovation when it screened two days earlier.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir has ordered a legal probe to identify the film's sources. According to the filmmakers, those sources include members of the military and Israeli intelligence whose identities are concealed in the film. Culture Minister Miki Zohar went further, suggesting the government could pursue treason charges against the directors and others connected to the project.

"It's shocking. We are fighting global anti-Semitic incitement, and when it comes from within us it is intolerable," Netanyahu said in a video posted on Telegram. "And now two Israeli directors portraying the [Israeli military] as war criminals receive applause at the Venice festival."

The prime minister's remarks followed a statement from Zamir, who framed the film as an attack on the state itself. "Based on what has been published thus far, this is not a film offering criticism of the [military], nor is it an attempt to establish the truth," Zamir said. "It is based on blood libels, deliberate distortions of reality, and grave, false accusations against [Israeli] soldiers and commanders."

A probe into sources and citizenship

Zamir instructed the Military Advocate General, whose authority is limited to military matters, to "examine and advance possible legal measures concerning the film and those involved in it." The order is aimed at tracing how serving and former personnel came to take part in the project.

Zohar said he had asked authorities to "investigate how the materials were obtained, who is behind them, and whether in the process of obtaining or publishing them, actions were taken that amount to aiding the enemy during wartime." He added that he had requested the Interior Ministry consider stripping the two filmmakers of their citizenship on grounds of "treason."

What the film alleges

The documentary takes its name from an Israeli military term for anticipated "collateral casualties." It is built around anonymous interviews with intelligence officers and soldiers who took part in the war. In those interviews, the participants describe how targets inside the Gaza Strip were chosen and how many civilian casualties were weighed into planned attacks.

Abraham and Szor have defended the project as a work aimed primarily at their own countrymen. "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," the filmmakers said.

The directors received the Special Jury Prize during the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice Film Festival on the Venice Lido. Their win, and the standing ovation that preceded it, have turned the film into a flashpoint at home, where senior figures are now weighing charges that range from investigations into leaked material to the revocation of the filmmakers' citizenship.

Naza documentary, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Venice Film Festival, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Gaza, Eyal Zamir, treason investigation

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