The film’s directors now face the prospect of losing Israeli nationality after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly condemned the trailer for NAZA and said he would move to strip the filmmakers of their citizenship. The prime minister called the project “shocking” in a social media video and described its depiction of the Israel Defense Forces as war criminals as intolerable, escalating a political move that targets the creators rather than the film’s factual claims.
NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize. The trailer says the feature includes interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers who discuss operations the film frames as causing mass civilian casualties in Gaza. The movie’s title uses an acronym the Israeli military reportedly applies to civilian deaths.
Abraham and Szor defended their work, saying they made the film "out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israelis to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible." They also said government threats to revoke their citizenship and death threats will not stop planned distribution, and they thanked colleagues for expressions of solidarity as the film prepares for wider release.
The military’s senior leadership rejected the documentary’s claims, with the chief of general staff saying the film is "based on blood libels, deliberate distortions of reality and grave, false accusations against IDF soldiers and commanders." That institutional rebuttal frames the dispute as both political and security-focused, widening the gap between state leaders and the filmmakers.
Producers and supporters argue NAZA rests on years of reporting and documented interviews. Producer Harry Davies described the project as a combination of investigative journalism compiled over three years and cinematic storytelling, and early viewers reported strong engagement with its witness-driven approach. One review cited in advance compared the film’s method to landmark historical testimony films and called it a meticulously documented exposé.
NAZA opens in New York on Sept. 30 and expands to additional U.S. markets on Oct. 9. The producers plan to make the film available to stream for free on The Guardian's website after its theatrical rollout. That distribution schedule will give the film broad public reach even as its creators confront legal, political and personal threats at home, and as Israeli institutions continue to contest its findings.
