Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has escalated his confrontation with the country's film industry through a new campaign video, released ahead of his Likud party's primaries, that mocks Israeli filmmakers as anti-Israel profiteers and pledges to redirect public funding away from films he says "blacken" Israeli soldiers. The move matters because it signals a potential reshaping of state support for one of Israel's most internationally celebrated cultural sectors, and because it deepens a rift between the government and filmmakers at a politically sensitive moment.

The spot, released on social media just days before the Jerusalem Film Festival opens, portrays filmmakers gleefully staging grotesque scenes of soldiers abusing Palestinians in exchange for government money. Zohar says his reform "transfers our money from films that Israel haters love to films that Israelis love." The row intensified after the Ophir Awards named "The Sea", a drama about a Palestinian boy, as best picture and Israel's Oscar submission, prompting Zohar to move to halt funding for the awards. Israeli filmmakers now face pressure on two fronts: boycott campaigns abroad, and accusations of disloyalty at home, even as more than 350 industry figures recently defended director Nadav Lapid.