Award-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor defended their Gaza surveillance documentary NAZA at its North American premiere in New York on Saturday, countering intense political backlash in Israel, where officials have threatened to strip them of their citizenship and accused them of treason.
New York Premiere Draws Protests and Defiant Q&A
The North American premiere of NAZA at the New York Film Festival on Saturday brought the documentary’s directors face-to-face with international scrutiny, arriving just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government’s military actions at the United Nations General Assembly across Central Park. Inside Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, more than 50 protesters gathered outside to voice opposition to the film, joined by mobile LED trucks projecting graphic footage and portraits from the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
Organized by the Israeli-American Council, the demonstration aimed to challenge what organizers described as an anti-Israel narrative ignoring the context of the war. Protesters carried signs urging onlookers to learn the facts, while speakers on site criticized the festival for screening a project by what they termed traitors to the Israeli cause.
Noa Peri-Jensch, chief communities officer of the Israeli-American Council (IAC), stated during the protest: We mourn every innocent life lost in this war, Israeli or Palestinian. But compassion for Palestinian civilians does not require us to erase October 7, ignore Hamas or accept one narrative without questioning it.
Peri-Jensch added: This is why we are here today: not to prevent anyone from speaking, but to make sure that our voices, our experiences and the truth are being heard as well.
Demonstrator Karen Toledano expressed solidarity with the IAC, stating that she feels Israeli voices have been stifled
within the creative community. I feel like our voices have been stifled in spaces that have called themselves inclusive for many years,
Toledano said. Sometimes when I do try to have a calm conversation and I’m encountered with anger, I know in my head that there just isn’t an argument on the other side. But it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow when really all
Peri-Jensch introduced Rom El-Hai, a survivor of the Oct. 7 attack on the Nova music festival. El-Hai told the crowd it did not surprise him that the New York Film Festival would screen a film made by traitors to the Israeli cause, stating: If there is someone here who wants to make a film about genocide, about hatred, brutality and killing innocent people, all the material is here. I took pictures of everything. I saw the hatred with my own eyes.
Following the screening, Abraham and Szor addressed the audience during a post-film question-and-answer session. The 80-minute documentary, which was filmed in secret on rooftops in Tel Aviv, relies on testimonies from 24 anonymized Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers. These military whistleblowers describe the use of artificial intelligence-powered systems to select targets for remote airstrikes in Gaza.
“Our country is doing so much to hide these systems,” Szor told the audience at the New York film festival in a Q&A that followed the film’s premiere. “It’s not a world that is open even to the Israeli public.”
Abraham emphasized the ongoing nature of the conflict during the discussion, pointing to international backing for the military operations. These crimes that you saw are ongoing,
Abraham said. They’re ongoing because it’s what our country is doing, and because of what your country is supporting and funding.
Venice Acclaim Followed by Governmental Retaliation
The friction surrounding the film escalated sharply after NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier in the month, where it earned a 25-minute standing ovation—described as a festival record. In response to the international acclaim, senior Israeli officials launched aggressive countermeasures against the directors.
The Culture Minister accused them of treason and sought to revoke their citizenship. The Prime Minister has announced bills to revoke the citizenship of anyone who slanders IDF soldiers and to raise defamation damages twentyfold.
The documentary is based on the account of 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers who were interviewed at the height of Israeli military operations in Gaza. The military personnel, whose identities are concealed to protect their anonymity, describe callous disregard for Palestinian civilian life as the Israel Defense Forces pursued Hamas targets in the occupied territory. Whistleblowers allege the IDF set acceptable totals of civilian Palestinian deaths in attacks targeting suspected Hamas militants, in one case authorizing the killing of up to 500 civilians in pursuit of one target.
International Documentary Association Demands End to Intimidation
The International Documentary Association issued an open letter urging the Israeli government to halt what it termed a campaign of threats against the directors.
“IDA calls on the Israeli government to withdraw its threats against filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor,” the letter says. “We also call for an end to the public campaign of intimidation against them.”
Since NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, senior Israeli officials have moved against its directors. The Culture Minister has accused them of treason and sought to revoke their citizenship. The Prime Minister has announced bills to revoke the citizenship of anyone who 'slanders IDF soldiers' and to raise defamation damages twentyfold. The
While the IDF has denied allegations in the film, the International Documentary Association wrote: “The Israeli military disputes the film’s account, and it is entitled to do so. But as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Israel is bound by Article 19, under which restrictions on expression must be provided by law and be necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim. Revoking citizenship, imposing punitive damages, or opening security investigations in response to a documentary does not meet that test. The UN Human Rights Committee recognizes the protection of journalistic sources as part of freedom of expression, and the filmmakers’ right not to disclose the identities of their sources must be upheld.”
The documentary is now set to release in more than 50 territories before becoming available to stream for free on The Guardian’s website.
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