# Israel’s Culture Minister Threatens to Revoke the Citizenship of ‘NAZA’ Filmmakers

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/israels-culture-minister-threatens-to-revoke-the-citizenship-of-naza-filmmakers/
- Published: 2026-09-14T08:37:19+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:44:10+00:00
- Original publisher: The Hollywood Reporter
- Original article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/israeli-culture-minister-threatens-naza-filmmakers-1236700077/
- Topics: Government, Middle East, Politics, World

## Key points

- Israeli minister threatens to strip citizenship from NAZA filmmakers over Gaza documentary
- Film alleges IDF systems target civilians, based on 24 officers' testimony
- Follows minister's earlier clash with Oscar-winning No Other Land filmmakers

## Summary

Israel's Culture Minister, Miki Zohar, said he will seek to revoke the citizenship of Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over their new documentary NAZA, branding it "vile" and accusing them of treason. The film, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, presents testimony from 24 Israeli military officers detailing systems they allege Israel uses to target and kill civilians in Gaza. Zohar tied his reaction to reforms he has led to Israel's film funding system, saying the changes mean Israelis will no longer have to "pay out of their own pockets" for content he considers harmful to the military and the state; the threat drew no indication of any actual legal mechanism being pursued and appears to have remained rhetorical.

Neither NAZA nor Abraham's previous film, No Other Land, received Israeli public funding; NAZA was produced partly with support from The Guardian. In his Venice acceptance speech, Abraham criticised Israeli politicians and journalists for "attacking" and denying the film without watching it, while co-director Rachel Szor said the soldiers featured spoke in Hebrew so more Israelis would hear what happened in Gaza. The row echoes Zohar's earlier criticism of No Other Land after its 2024 Oscar win, and follows his overhaul of Israel's film-financing system, which shifted public money away from politically sensitive independent projects towards more commercially oriented films after the Palestinian-focused drama The Sea won Israel's top film honour last year.

## Coverage

- [The Hollywood Reporter: Israel’s Culture Minister Threatens to Revoke the Citizenship of ‘NAZA’ Filmmakers](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/israeli-culture-minister-threatens-naza-filmmakers-1236700077/)
- [Deadline: Israel’s Culture Minister Calls For Oscar-Winning Israeli Filmmakers Behind Gaza Doc ‘NAZA’ To Lose Their Citizenship](https://deadline.com/2026/09/israel-culture-minister-naza-filmmakers-citizenship-1237101397/)
- [The Guardian: Israeli minister threatens to strip Israeli film-makers of citizenship over Gaza documentary NAZA](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/14/gaza-documentary-makers-naza-israel-citizenship-ntwnfb)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.