Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA  | NAZA | The Guardian  (gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb.html)   (../../../../../assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/manifest.json)  (https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/icons/homescreen/apple-touch-icon.svg) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/icons/homescreen/apple-touch-icon-512.png) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/icons/homescreen/apple-touch-icon-360.png) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/icons/homescreen/apple-touch-icon-240.png) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/icons/homescreen/apple-touch-icon-120.png) (../../../../../static.guim.co.uk/images/favicon-32x32.ico) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/) (https://i.guim.co.uk) (https://j.ophan.co.uk) (https://ophan.theguardian.com) (https://sourcepoint.theguardian.com) (https://assets.guim.co.uk/) (https://i.guim.co.uk) (https://j.ophan.co.uk) (https://ophan.theguardian.com) 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There are now calls to strip them of their Israeli citizenship. Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images     (gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       NAZA directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor with the special jury prize awarded at at the Venice film festival on Saturday. There are now calls to strip them of their Israeli citizenship. Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images       (https://www.theguardian.com/film/naza) NAZA     Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA    Miki Zohar accuses Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of ‘treason against the state’ (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/11/naza-directors-film-israeli-intelligence-rachel-szor-yuval-abraham-) ‘They know the house they are bombing is full of children’: NAZA’s directors on their devastating film about Israeli intelligence            (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sian-cain) Sian Cain and  (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/lorenzo-tondo) Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem, and agencies   Mon 14 Sep 2026 03.28 EDT  First published on Sun 13 Sep 2026 20.54 EDT   (mailto:?subject=Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA &body=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/14/gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Israel’s culture minister has called for the Oscar-winning Israeli directors of (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/10/naza-review-israel-gaza) NAZA , a documentary about the country’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza, to be stripped of their citizenship, accusing them of “treason against the state”. NAZA, which was produced by the Guardian, is named for an acronym used by Israel’s intelligence service to indicate how many civilians it expects to die in an airstrike on Gaza.  In the film, the Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke to 24 different Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who outlined the AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard (https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza) Gaza that have killed tens of thousands of civilians. In one interview, a source claims that approval had been given to kill 500 NAZA in order to kill one Hamas member. The 80-minute documentary (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/12/woman-unknown-wins-venice-film-festival-as-naza-takes-special-jury-prize) won a special jury prize at this year’s Venice film festival on Saturday, after receiving (https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2026/sep/11/documentary-naza-gets-25-minute-standing-ovation-at-venice-film-festival-premiere-video-ntwnfb) a 25-minute standing ovation – a festival record.           (NAZA director says ‘it’s important Israelis watch this film’ after win at Venice festival – video)     0:50                   NAZA director says ‘it’s important Israelis watch this film’ after win at Venice festival – video     On Sunday Israel’s culture minister, Miki Zohar, accused the directors on X of being willing to “harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world”. “I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state,” Zohar wrote on X. Other Israeli ministers also took aim at the directors, who won an Oscar in 2025 for their film No Other Land about Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/11/naza-directors-film-israeli-intelligence-rachel-szor-yuval-abraham-)  ‘They know the house they are bombing is full of children’: NAZA’s directors on their devastating film about Israeli intelligence     Read more        “You are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel. Go away!” the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said on X. “I am certain that your friends, that is to say our enemies Hamas in Gaza, will welcome you with open arms.” The former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman called Abraham and Szor “haters of Israel”, while the former prime minister Naftali Bennett described it as “a horrific blood libel against our sons and daughters”. The revocation of nationality is legally possible in Israel, although it is rarely applied. In 2022 the supreme court confirmed that the state may strip people of their nationality if they have failed to show “loyalty”, for example by committing acts of espionage or treason. The law was also expanded in 2023 to apply to people convicted of “terrorism”. The law requires the interior minister to submit the revocation request, the justice minister to approve it and judges to validate it. Abraham’s family home was (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/27/israeli-director-receives-death-threats-after-officials-call-berlinale-antisemitic) targeted by a rightwing mob after the world premiere of 2024’s No Other Land, which spotlighted Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank. “We’re taking risks in a system that privileges us, that has Jewish-Israeli supremacy as its founding characteristic,” he (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/11/naza-directors-film-israeli-intelligence-rachel-szor-yuval-abraham-) told the Guardian , adding: “For so many Palestinians, it’s not a rightwing mob that’s coming to their home: it’s US-funded bulldozers and weapons. “Imagine if a Palestinian journalist in Gaza tried to do what we did and called up senior Israeli officials. There is no comparison. They would most likely be murdered.” The Israeli military initially responded to (https://www.theguardian.com/film/naza) NAZA by saying it “categorically rejects” the allegations made in the documentary and criticised the use of anonymous testimonies, saying the identities of the whistleblowers “cannot be verified”. In a later response, the military said “the allegations required a detailed, evidence-based response rather than a blanket dismissal”. Some figures on the Israeli left praised the film and its directors. The former lawmaker Yousef Jabareen, chair of the leftwing Hadash party, congratulated the directors on the award, thanking them for bringing “these horrific crimes and the brutal reality in Gaza” before millions of people. In an editorial, the Haaretz newspaper urged Israelis to confront what it described as the reality of Israel’s actions in Gaza. “By screening their film at the Venice film festival, (https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-03-06/ty-article-opinion/.premium/yuval-abraham-is-actually-a-true-hero-for-not-groaning-under-the-weight-of-apartheid/0000018e-1433-d73e-af9f-7fb7d85a0000) Abraham and Szor are trying to force Israelis to confront what they already know: that there’s a black stain on the way Israel is conducting war in Gaza, to put it mildly,” Haaretz wrote. The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official Israeli figures. Hamas militants also took 251 hostages to Gaza. The Gaza health ministry has reported more than 73,000 deaths in the subsequent three years of Israeli bombardment, the vast majority of which have been civilian casualties.  Agence France-Presse contributed to this report          Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/film/naza) NAZA  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) Israel  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East and north Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza) Gaza  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/palestinian-territories) Palestine  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel-hamas-war) Israel-Gaza war  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA &body=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/14/gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffilm%2F2026%2Fsep%2F14%2Fgaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb&type=article&internalpagecode=film/2026/sep/14/gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                            Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-politics) US politics  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-midterm-elections-2026) Midterms 2026  (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) Climate crisis  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East   (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) Ukraine  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/usimmigration) US immigration  (https://www.theguardian.com/us/soccer) Soccer  (https://www.theguardian.com/us/business) Business  (https://www.theguardian.com/us/environment) Environment  (https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology) Tech  (https://www.theguardian.com/science) Science  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters) Newsletters  (https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter-us) The Filter  (https://www.theguardian.com/us/wellness) Wellness       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://jobs.theguardian.com) Search jobs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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