Jerusalem (EFE).- Israeli filmmakers and 43 local human rights organizations expressed their support on Tuesday for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, directors of the award-winning documentary ‘NAZA’ about the killings in Gaza, following a mounting national campaign of threats against them.
In a joint statement, the humanitarian organizations urged Israeli authorities to stop the incitement and threats, and to refrain from prosecuting the filmmakers or their sources, the latter being military intelligence officers who provided anonymous testimony.
«The institutional response to the film and the threats against its creators are characteristic of dictatorial regimes,» stated the petition signed by NGOs including Peace Now, Adalah, B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, and Breaking the Silence.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Israeli directors have signed a petition on the Atzuma collective platform advocating for «freedom of expression and creation,» calling on others to stand in solidarity with Szor and Abraham.
«In recent days, we have witnessed an unprecedented smear and incitement campaign against the filmmakers, with the line between this rhetoric and physical violence or threats to their lives narrowing rapidly,» the artists warned in their manifesto. They emphasized that «the primary role of art and journalism is to reflect the society in which they exist, fostering open dialogue and debate, even when facing a harsh reality.»
According to the daily newspaper Haaretz, prominent Israeli filmmakers among the signatories include Ari Folman (director of ‘Waltz with Bashir’), Shlomi Elkabetz, and documentarian Ran Tal.
«We hope the film will be released in Israel as soon as possible so everyone can watch it, form their own opinion, and engage in a genuine, direct debate about the war in Gaza and its consequences, a conversation that has barely taken place in Israeli media and society so far,» they added.
Both groups also condemned a demand by Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar to revoke the citizenship of Abraham and Szor over the documentary, in which 24 intelligence officers systematically detail Israel’s destruction strategy in Gaza.
The NGOs further demanded a «thorough» investigation by Israel into the high number of casualties in Gaza, particularly civilians, with the Gaza Ministry of Health reporting over 74,000 Palestinians dead and around 8,000 missing, as well as unimpeded access for journalists to Gaza, where entry has been barred by Israel since October 2023.
The documentary ‘NAZA’, produced by the British newspaper The Guardian, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. Its title derives from an acronym used by Israeli intelligence services to estimate expected civilian casualties in an airstrike (for instance, «20 NAZA»). EFE
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