{
  "id": 7699722,
  "title": "'NAZA' and the battle over who gets to tell the story",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/naza-and-the-battle-over-who-gets-to-tell-the-story",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T03:35:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Al Majalla English",
    "slug": "al-majalla-english",
    "url": "https://en.majalla.com/node/333060/culture-social-affairs/naza-and-battle-over-who-gets-tell-story"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Israeli documentary film NAZA, screened at the recent Venice Film Festival, has ignited a discussion among Palestinians and Arabs regarding the significance and worth of Israelis disclosing the actions of their own military and government during the Gaza war. This debate is still in its early stages for two reasons: first, no one has yet seen this 2026 documentary, which was written and directed by Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who interviewed anonymized military and intelligence sources about the mass killing of civilians by Israeli forces in Gaza. The main focus of the debate is principle, not the film's content or conclusions. Second, the debate has been immediate and emotional, spurred by the audience's 25-minute applause after the film ended, which irked some observers who compared it to the reception of another recent documentary on Gaza. Some even suggested that this reaction was intentional, aiming to elevate the Israeli account of genocide over the Arab perspective. European recognition of NAZA, reflected in a Jury Prize, might be partly due to the relief that Israelis are now telling their own story, thus avoiding accusations of antisemitism or bias in favoring the Palestinian narrative. This gives the film a unique status as a \"testimony from within,\" potentially aiding in confronting Israel's occupation, racism, and genocide. However, some may see this as a form of exoneration for Israeli society, allowing them to oppose the occupation without addressing its deeper structural flaws. The controversy surrounding NAZA centers on whether a film made by Israelis about their own state's crimes constitutes \"whitewashing Israel\" by portraying Israeli society as diverse, containing both good and bad, extremists and moderates, and those who believe in justice and those who commit genocide. This question is justified, as is the skepticism behind it. The extremist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not emerge out of thin air; it came to power through democratic elections. During the Gaza war, public support for the military response grew, with 39% of Israelis feeling it was justified, while only 19% felt it was excessive. A Pew Research Center survey also revealed that 74% of Arab Israelis believed the response went too far. Israeli writer Alon Mizrahi expressed concern about this dilemma, acknowledging that Palestinians are at the heart of the tragedy, but arguing that \"Israelis come along and make films about their suffering and win awards.\" He acknowledged that there are decent Israelis deeply pained by the shame of apartheid and genocide, but suggests that they are an exceedingly small minority. So, only a vanishingly small minority of Israelis can truly have a conscience or moral sensibility, although opinions vary. Some authors and intellectuals, such as Mizrahi, Ilan Pappé, Omer Bartov, and David Grossman, openly admit that Israel has committed genocide. Others focus on isolated war crimes or individual acts, often the position adopted by the Israeli government when it can no longer deny a particular crime. Some condemn only occupation, colonialism, and racial discrimination, while others direct their opposition almost entirely at violent settlers, without questioning how the most extreme government in Israel's history came to power. Even Mizrahi, in his post, defended Rachel Szor and made no mention of Yuval Abraham. This omission might be due to Abraham's positions, such as defending reports of women being raped on October 7, 2023—a story used to justify the subsequent brutality. What Mizrahi overlooks, perhaps due to his heightened sensitivity to Palestinian suffering, is that Palestinians have already told their story in various ways, including through literature and the arts, and carried it to the world despite the loss of over 265 journalists since October 2023.",
  "summary": "'NAZA' and the battle over who gets to tell the story newspress_en Wed, 09/16/2026 - 04:35 Culture & Social Affairs The Israeli film NAZA , screened at the latest Venice Film Festival, has stirred the beginnings of a debate among Palestinians and Arabs over the meaning and value of Israelis exposing the conduct of their own army and government during the genocidal war in Gaza. This debate remains…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}