Jakarta, ThedailyID — Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has called for the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to be revoked over their documentary NAZA about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Zohar criticized the two Israeli directors in a post on X on Sunday, September 13. He accused them of betraying Israel through the film.
NAZA examines allegations that Israel used artificial intelligence to support bombing operations in Gaza. The documentary draws on interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence sources.
The 80-minute film won the jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. Abraham and Szor previously won the 2025 Academy Award for No Other Land, a documentary about Israeli settler actions in the occupied West Bank.
“As culture minister, I will immediately act to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable filmmakers for betraying the country,” Zohar said, Monday, September 14.
He also accused the filmmakers of seeking international applause at Israel’s expense.
Right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir separately attacked the directors.
“You are a disgrace and an embarrassment to all the people of Israel. Get out!” Ben Gvir said, according to AFP.
However, Israeli law allows citizenship revocation only under specific legal procedures. The measure also remains relatively rare.
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the state could revoke citizenship when a person fails to demonstrate “loyalty,” including through acts such as espionage or treason.
Parliament expanded the citizenship revocation law in 2023 to cover people convicted of terrorism. The process requires an application from the interior minister, approval from the justice minister and authorization from a judge.
Abraham has said that anonymous Israeli intelligence sources interviewed for NAZA described mass killings in Gaza as planned rather than accidental. He said the alleged objective involved the “total dehumanization of Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has strongly criticized the documentary’s use of anonymous sources. It said their identities and testimony could not be independently verified.
Israeli officials and military authorities have long denied deliberately targeting civilians. They have instead described civilian deaths during military operations as unintended consequences.
The Gaza war has killed more than 73,000 people, including women and children, according to figures cited in the source report.
The conflict has also devastated much of the Gaza Strip and displaced large numbers of residents.
