Miki Zohar Threatens To Revoke Yuval Abraham And Rachel Szor’s Israeli Citizenship Over Naza

Citizenship threat after Venice

Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar said he will work to try to revoke the nationality of documentary directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their film Naza won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Festival. Zohar accused the filmmakers of “treason against the country,” and said, “As Culture Minister, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable directors for treason against the country.”

The film, described as an 80-minute documentary, puts on the table alleged strategy behind the mass and calculated slaughter of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and says it addresses the attack mechanisms used by the army in the Gaza Strip through the use of artificial intelligence. In response, the Israeli Army (IDF) rejected the documentary’s conclusions in a statement saying its decisions to bomb Gaza are always taken by human personnel and not by artificial intelligence (AI).

Reporting for this section20Minutos24horas

Ben-Gvir joins the attack

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also attacked the directors on X, saying Abraham and Szor “are a shame and a dishonor to the entire people of Israel.”

Ben Gvir added, “Disappear. I am sure that their friends, our Hamas enemies in Gaza, will welcome them with open arms,” telling the filmmakers.

Yuval Abraham defended the film’s sources and objective, saying, “The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with explained that this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design.”

The documentary’s Venice reception is described as overwhelming applause, with ABC noting it won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival in its 83rd edition, while Al Jazeera says the film received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere.

Reporting for this section20MinutosAl Jazeera

Law, courts, and political fallout

The Israeli government’s threatened sanctions are tied to a legal procedure requiring a specific administrative process, with the application submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and formally ratified by the courts of justice. The same dispute is framed by Al Jazeera as part of a broader political push, with Netanyahu pledging to pass a law that would revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames Israel’s soldiers, including the directors of Naza.

Netanyahu said, “The first [order]: To revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames [Israeli] soldiers, and the second: To hit them in their pockets and increase the statutory damages for defamation they can be sued for by 20 times,” and added, “We will hit them both in their pockets and in their citizenship, as their place is not with us.” Al Jazeera also reports that the film’s premiere drew 25 minutes of applause and that Israel mobilized ministries including Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, and Culture to confront the film’s repercussions as the war continues ongoing since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Reporting for this section24horasAl-Jazeera Net