After 25-minute standing ovation, Israeli minister threatens to strip citizenship from Gaza documentary directors

Israel's culture minister threatened to strip the citizenship of the directors behind a documentary alleging that the Israeli military systematically killed civilians in Gaza, after the film won an award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday (local time) that it was "shocking" that "the despicable film 'NAZA'" had won at the Venice Film Festival, according to AFP and US trade publication Variety.

Zohar condemned what he called the filmmakers' "self-flagellation in order to harm their homeland and receive applause from antisemites around the world," calling it "treason against the state."

He added that as culture minister he would "take immediate steps to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the despicable filmmakers who committed treason against the state."

"This is exactly why I led the reform of the film industry — so that Israeli citizens would no longer fund, out of their own pockets, efforts to harm the Israeli military and the state," he added.

However, the culture minister does not have the authority to revoke citizenship. Israel does have a legal procedure allowing the revocation of citizenship for those convicted of treason or involvement in terrorism, but it requires a request from the interior minister, approval from the justice minister and a final ruling by a court. The treason charges Zohar invoked have not been established through any judicial process.

"NAZA" was co-directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Saturday. The 80-minute film features anonymous testimony from 24 Israeli intelligence operatives and soldiers involved in civilian surveillance, target selection and remote killings in Gaza.

The film's title, "NAZA," is drawn from an acronym the Israeli military used to refer to the estimated number of civilians expected to die in an airstrike.

The film had its world premiere at the festival on Thursday, receiving a 25-minute standing ovation after the screening. Abraham told The Hollywood Reporter that distribution in Israel had not yet been arranged, but said the goal was "to screen it as widely as possible in Israel, the United States and Germany."

The two directors won an Academy Award last year for "No Other Land," a documentary about violence carried out by Israeli settlers to drive Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank.