The Aporia
The Aporia
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, Israeli directors, won a special jury prize at the 2026 Venice Film Festival for their documentary "NAZA." The film, which received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere, examines AI-assisted targeting systems used by the Israeli military in Gaza that allegedly resulted in mass civilian deaths. Abraham and Szor interviewed 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers who claimed the killing of Palestinian civilians was systemic and not accidental.
However, this victory sparked intense backlash from Israeli officials. Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatened to revoke the filmmakers' citizenship for alleged treason and called on authorities to investigate how they obtained their materials, suggesting possible collaboration with enemies during wartime. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticized the film as part of global anti-Semitic incitement, while the military chief ordered a legal review to examine potential charges against those involved.
The documentary's win highlights deep-seated tensions over Israel's actions in Gaza and has brought international attention to alleged war crimes by Israeli forces.
It refers to the filmmakers’ conviction that the systems Israel used to select targets and authorize strikes in Gaza enabled immoral and unlawfully high rates of civilian casualties.
They reportedly contend that the killing was intentional.
the online conversation about the film—as distinct from the film’s own claims—is replete with shock and horror at the finding that the IDF calculated the estimated number of civilian deaths before each strike.
