Netanyahu accuses authors of “Naza” of “inciting antisemitism”

“ ANDwe are fighting the incitement to anti-Semitic hatred on a global level, but when it comes from within, among us, it is simply intolerable,” Netanyahu said in a video published on social networks, in reaction to the film that reproduces testimonies about abuses using the artificial intelligence of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip and that received the Special Jury Award at the last Venice Festival.

The head of the government commented that “the two Israeli directors portray Israel’s Defense Forces as war criminals and are applauded at the Venice Festival,” alluding to the long ovation that the film received in its presentation last Thursday.

In his video message, Netanyahu associated the documentary with statements by former general and current leader of the Democratic opposition party, Yair Golan, when last year he said that Israel “is killing babies in Gaza as a ‘hobby’.”.

The Prime Minister also sought to link the film to the Yashar party, led by former commander of the Gadi Eisenkot army, who in turn has an electoral agreement with Yair Golan for the legislatives scheduled for October 27.

Eisenkot, the main opponent of the Netanyahu Likud and who has emerged in the leadership of the general polls, criticized the documentary on Sunday, commenting that “Naza” offers a “distorted and unilateral” image of the conflict in the Palestinian enclave and harms Israeli soldiers.

Other opposition leaders have also criticized the content of the documentary.

“Naza” (Hebrew acronym used by the army to refer to collateral damage) is based on 24 anonymous testimonies of army members and intelligence services and questions Israel’s strategy in the Gaza Strip and practices that led to large-scale civilian casualties.

In concrete, the film addresses the use of technology and artificial intelligence systems to identify targets without human intervention, which has already been denied by the armed forces, in a statement released after the projection at the Venice Festival, while questioning the identity and reliability of the interviewees.

Army commander Eyal Zamir today accused the documentary of trying to undermine the legitimacy of Israel and its armed forces, and ordered a study of the legal measures against the film and its authors.

“ Based on what has been published to date, this is not a film that criticizes the Israeli Defense Forces, nor an attempt to establish the truth. It is based on slanders of blood, deliberate distortions of reality and serious and false accusations against soldiers and commanders ", declared the military chief in a statement.

Zamir claimed that the Israeli army acts “according to international law and its ethical standards” and stated that its troops strive to reduce the number of civilians affected in their operations.

The statement adds that the chief of the armed forces ordered the creation of a team to prepare a response to the documentary's allegations, study possible legal actions and verify that confidential materials were used without authorization during production.

Prior to the head of the Government and the commander of the army, the Israeli Minister of Culture indicated that he would take steps to revoke the citizenship of the documentary directors.

“ As Minister of Culture, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these vile creators for treason against the country,” Miki Zohar said in a message on social network X.

Zohar accused Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of having a “burning and self-destructive hatred” and of being “willing to harm their homeland to receive applause from the anti-Semites of the world”., joining the words of condemnation of the National Security Minister, ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, who classified filmmakers as “a disgrace and a disgrace to all the people of Israel”.

Already today, the Minister of Culture asked today for an inquiry to identify the sources used in the film.

Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor also directed, with the Palestinians Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, the documentary “No Other Land”, winner of an Oscar in 2025, on the Israeli plan of destruction and displacement of the Palestinian inhabitants of a village in the West Bank.

The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the attacks led by the Islamist Hamas group on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people died and 251 were taken hostage.

In retaliation, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the enclave, which caused more than 73,000 deaths, according to local authorities controlled by Hamas, a humanitarian disaster, the destruction of almost all the infrastructure in the territory and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

Since the beginning of the current ceasefire, agreed in October last year, the Gaza Strip authorities have accounted for more than 1,300 Palestinians killed in attacks by Israeli forces, which maintain high restrictions on the entry of independent journalists and observers into the territory.