Israeli minister threatens to revoke filmmakers’ citizenship over Gaza documentary

Israel's Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenship of Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over a documentary accusing the Israeli army of mass civilian killings in Gaza. The 80-minute film, Naza, details the systems behind Israel's calculated targeting of Palestinian civilians during the conflict initiated by Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023.

According to the film, there were instances where the Israeli military approved attacks aimed at killing up to 500 people for a single human target, an allegation the IDF dismissed as "completely false." Zohar stated that the documentary's claims are "false and distorted" and he has asked authorities to investigate the materials' sources and the process of obtaining and publishing them.

The Citizenship Law allows for citizenship revocation due to "breach of allegiance to the State of Israel". However, this measure has rarely been applied. The filmmakers, who won an Oscar for their previous documentary about Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, premiered Naza at the Venice Film Festival where it received a 25-minute standing ovation. Despite the film's reception, no immediate response has been received from Abraham and Szor.