Gaza documentary sparks 'treason' uproar in Israel - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor have been accused of being "traitors" to Israel. (AP: Ariel Schalit)
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor made a documentary, NAZA, that accuses the Israeli army of systematic mass civilian killings in Gaza.
NAZA won the prestigious Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, and was met with a 25-minute standing ovation.
Critics in Israel have seen the film as an act of treason and it has prompted calls from the government for a secret-service investigation into the filmmakers and the soldiers who spoke to them.
A documentary revealing how Israel's military has waged a deadly campaign in Gaza has prompted a fierce backlash, with protesters accusing the filmmakers of "treason".
NAZA, by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, accuses the Israeli army of systematic mass civilian killings in Gaza.
The film's title comes from an Israeli military acronym derived from the Hebrew term "nezek agavi", or "collateral damage".
It draws on descriptions by unidentified Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers of an AI-assisted system that identifies targets using data gathered from thousands of hacked mobile phones.
NAZA won the prestigious Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, and was met with a 25-minute standing ovation.
But despite accolades abroad, critics at home in Israel have seen the film as an act of treason.
It has also prompted calls from the government for a secret-service investigation into both the filmmakers and the soldiers who gave their testimonies.
Not currently publicly available in any country, and kept secret just days before its release at the Venice International Film Festival, the few clips circulating of the film have caused an uproar in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would promote legislation against the defamation of Israeli soldiers and the State of Israel, which he called the NAZA laws.
"We will revoke citizenship from anyone who defames IDF soldiers in the world, and we will hit them hard in the pocket," he said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor have not yet returned home to Israel, where their film has been fiercely criticised. (Supplied: Committee to Protect Journalists)
Abraham said he and Szor had felt a responsibility as Israelis to use their position and ability to gain confidence and bring "insider testimony into how the system looks like from the inside, the system of killing".
The pair have not yet returned to Israel since its Venice screening and the backlash has been so intense Abraham has deleted his social media accounts.
The Committee to Protect Journalists described Mr Netanyahu's statement as a "dangerous escalation in official efforts to intimidate and punish journalists".
"Israeli authorities must immediately end this campaign against Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and ensure their safety and that of their families," the organisation said in a statement.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside one of the director's parents' homes in Tel Aviv this week.
One protester with a megaphone called the film "an act of treason from within", an Israeli news outlet that witnessed the protest reported.
"We will not forgive, in the name of all the IDF soldiers and all the bereaved families," they said.
"We as a society have to denounce them, they should be embarrassed to walk in the streets and they are afraid to come back to Israel."
On a second night of protests, dozens gathered outside the home calling to "expel the traitors", Haaretz newspaper reported.
Israel's Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar, said he had approached David Zini, the head of Israel's internal secret service, and called for an investigation to be opened against Abraham and Szor.
"I requested an examination of the source of the information and materials used to create the film and the circumstances of how they came into the creators' possession, as part of the process to consider revoking Israeli citizenship," he said in a post on social media.
The minister also demanded the secret services investigate the soldiers who spoke in the film.
"We will not rest and we will not remain silent until everyone who took part in this disgrace is brought to trial and proceedings are initiated against them," he said.
IDF chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir held a meeting with senior officers to discuss what to do about the documentary film, which he described as an attack not only on the IDF but on Israel as a whole.
The lieutenant general said the movie adopted "the narratives of those who hate Israel" and "defames our soldiers and commanders".
He also ordered an investigation of the "unauthorised disclosure of classified materials used in the production of the film".
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF leader and a contender in Israel's upcoming election, accused the filmmakers of "moral blindness".
Ms Eisenkot said while criticism is legitimate in a democratic society, there was an "abysmal gulf between it and defaming the names of our soldiers in order to harvest applause at festivals abroad".
With criticism mounting from politicians and activists across the Israeli right, commentators believe the issue could impact the upcoming elections in Israel.
NAZA is scheduled for a screening at the New York Film Festival next weekend.
