Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their documentary about Israel’s conduct in Gaza won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Zohar described the film, NAZA, as “vile” and called its recognition at the festival “shocking” in a post on X.
He accused the filmmakers of harming Israel “just to get applause from antisemites around the world” and said their actions “constitute treason against the state”.
“As culture minister, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state,” he wrote.
Documentary receives standing ovation in Venice
The 80-minute documentary received a 25-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the festival. Its official synopsis says it examines Israel’s use of artificial intelligence systems in what it describes as “calculated mass killings” of Palestinians in Gaza.
The film includes testimonies from Israeli military and intelligence personnel who spoke anonymously. Those interviewed described an AI system called “Lavender”, which they said was used to monitor communications between Palestinians in Gaza and determine targets for killings.
Abraham said he hoped the documentary would encourage Western governments to impose economic sanctions on Israel.
