Far-right Israelis protest outside ‘NAZA’ director’s home after Venice win

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Arts & Entertainment Desk

Far-right Israelis protest outside ‘NAZA’ director’s home after Venice win

Photo: Collected

Dozens of far-right Israelis gathered outside filmmaker Rachel Szor’s family home on Wednesday (September 16), calling for her to be hanged over her documentary “NAZA”.

Szor and her co-director Yuval Abraham have faced growing backlash in Israel since the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival on September 12.

According to Haaretz, some protesters called for the “death penalty for traitors”. One protester said that when Szor and Abraham return to Israel, “they should be tried and go to the gallows, and the family should be expelled and the house sealed”.

A far-right activist linked to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged protesters to identify the filmmakers if they saw them in public.

“They won’t sit in any restaurant or any place,” the activist said. “Whoever sees them should circulate it in all the groups - these scums have nowhere to run.”

Protesters held signs reading “traitors” and waved Israeli army unit flags. Another protester described the film as “an act of treason from within”, according to Israeli news website Walla.
“NAZA”, directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Szor and Abraham, examines AI-powered systems used by Israel during its war in Gaza. It features interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders whose identities were kept anonymous.

The film has faced criticism from Israeli politicians, journalists and other public figures. A Channel 13 News poll found that 68 percent of respondents did not believe the film’s claims of intentional mass killing in Gaza, while 13 percent said they did. The poll also found that 48 percent supported banning the film in Israel.

Culture Minister Miki Zohar has called the film “despicable” and said he would “act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators on the grounds of treason against the state”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticised the filmmakers on Wednesday and said he would introduce two bills targeting those who defame the Israeli military.

“They have no place among us,” Netanyahu said of those who defame the Israeli army. The Israeli military has rejected the documentary’s allegations, although it had not seen the film, according to Israeli media. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir reportedly ordered legal action against Szor and Abraham with the help of the Shin Bet.

The Union of Journalists in Israel has condemned the attacks on the filmmakers. Meanwhile, Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal compared “NAZA” with Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”.