NAZA examines Israeli intelligence personnel involved in Gaza assault
NAZA, a documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, features anonymised Israeli intelligence personnel discussing their role in the assault on Gaza. It belongs to a tradition of “perpetrator cinema” that tries to understand people who carry out atrocities, confronting viewers with questions about responsibility, empathy and complicity.
The article compares NAZA with The Act of Killing, Standard Operating Procedure and The Zone of Interest, which examine Indonesian death squads, abuse at Abu Ghraib and life beside Auschwitz. NAZA’s subjects are educated Tel Aviv professionals, some of whom cite the 7 October attacks as justification; one acknowledges that they have been conducting genocide. The film has drawn criticism for centring perpetrators when Palestinians have already documented events in Gaza, while the Israeli government has threatened its directors.
- NAZA gives anonymised Israeli intelligence personnel a platform to discuss Gaza.
- The film renews debate about how cinema should portray perpetrators.
- Critics question whether perpetrators’ accounts add to Palestinians’ documentation.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Examining the intelligence personnel may help audiences understand how educated civilians come to take part in mass violence, and how institutions and personal justifications shape their choices. Such scrutiny can expose responsibility and complicity, while the government’s threats against the directors underline the value of documenting testimony even when it is politically uncomfortable.
The case against
Giving Israeli perpetrators the central platform may risk granting them attention and a measure of empathy when Palestinians have already documented their experiences and the devastation in Gaza. Critics can reasonably argue that this framing shifts the focus from victims and evidence of harm towards the perpetrators’ motives, potentially softening accountability.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Calling the shots: what NAZA says about perpetrator cinema”.