A thousand people from Israel’s film industry voiced their support for NAZA documentary directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The filmmakers condemned incitement and threats against the directors and defended freedom of expression and artistic freedom.
The published statement called on Israelis to watch the documentary before reaching a decision about the allegations surrounding NAZA. It also called for support and solidarity with the film’s creators.
Threats against the directors condemned
The statement argued that the alleged smear and incitement campaign against Abraham and Szor had reached the point of legitimizing violence and posed a physical threat to the directors’ lives.
It also criticized filmmakers, academics and journalists who condemned the film without watching it. The statement said that art and journalism should reflect the difficult realities facing society and create an environment for debate.
What the documentary contains
The statement said that the NAZA documentary refers to an acronym used for civilians whom the Israeli military is said to expect to die in an attack. The production was filmed secretly on rooftops in Tel Aviv over three years, while the participants’ identities, voices and images were digitally altered for their safety.
The documentary features participants discussing surveillance systems, long-distance bombing methods and covert practices allegedly used by the Israeli military in Gaza. According to the participants’ accounts, potential Hamas targets are identified using artificial intelligence, and homes known to contain families can also be bombed.
The production also includes accounts alleging that residential areas used by civilians as shelters in Gaza were deliberately set on fire and that people were killed during food distributions. Some people interviewed in the documentary were previously alleged to have served in covert intelligence units reporting directly to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Minister’s citizenship threat
The statement argued that some Israeli filmmakers and writers’ alignment with populist politicians’ stance toward the directors had paved the way for Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar’s threats that Szor and Abraham could have their citizenship revoked.
