Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor for their Venice Film Festival-winning documentary "NAZA," which details Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that killed Palestinian civilians. The minister accused the filmmakers of treason, saying they harmed their homeland to gain international approval. The film features interviews with 24 unnamed Israeli military or intelligence personnel who discuss AI-powered targeting systems used during Israel's offensive against Hamas, a response to attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel according to Gaza officials.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their documentary "NAZA" won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film, which criticizes Israeli airstrikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza, features interviews with 24 unnamed Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers who discuss AI-powered targeting systems used during the conflict. Zohar accused the filmmakers of treason against Israel and expressed his intent to strip them of their citizenship, while also calling for an investigation into how they obtained their sources. The IDF denies deliberately targeting civilians, but more than 73,000 Palestinians, including over 20,000 children, have been killed in the ongoing conflict since October 2023 according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry figures.
Written for “Israeli Minister Attacks Gaza Film Team” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 8712: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-14
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to strip filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of their citizenship after the two won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival for a documentary about Israeli airstrikes killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
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two → threaten → Gaza
The film, called "NAZA" — a Hebrew acronym said to be used for counting the estimated number of civilians to be killed in a military strike — contains interviews with Israeli intelligence operatives behind the attacks.
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film → call → attacks
Israel's military denies deliberately targeting civilians.
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military → deny → civilians
What did the culture minister and others say?
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minister → say → What
Zohar said Abraham and Szor were "willing to harm their homeland in order just to get applause from antisemites around the world.
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Abraham → say → world
"
"I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state," Zohar wrote on X.
Far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir also used the platform for a post in which he called the two filmmakers "a disgrace and an embarrassment" to Israel.
The revocation of nationality is legally possible in Israel, with the Supreme Court confirming in 2022 that the state may strip people of their nationality for acts of "disloyalty" such as espionage or treason.
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state → act → espionage
What does the film 'NAZA' show?
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film → show → What
For "NAZA," Abraham and Szor spoke to 24 Israeli military or intelligence personnel in nighttime interviews on rooftops in Tel Aviv.
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Abraham → speak → Aviv
Those interviewed gave details on the AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard Gaza in Israel's offensive in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel.
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which → interview → Israel
According to figures by Gaza officials, which are considered to be broadly reliable by the UN, more than 73,000 Palestinian people, including 20,000 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the operation began.
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operation → accord → attacks
Abraham said "the Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us about how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design, actions of murder and policies that are based on the total dehumanization of Palestinians."
The Israeli army has rejected allegations made in the 80-minute film, among other things criticizing the use of anonymous testimonies and saying the identities of the whistleblowers could not be verified.
Edited by: Natalie Muller
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algorithm → say → news
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you → rely → news