Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has stated his intention to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor following the success of their documentary "NAZA" at the Venice Film Festival. The film, which won the Special Jury Prize, focuses on Israel's alleged use of AI in Gaza.
In a social media post on Sunday, Zohar described the documentary as "vile" and its award as "shocking," accusing the filmmakers of harming Israel to gain favor with "antisemites around the world." He further asserted that their actions amounted to "treason against the state" and vowed to take immediate steps to revoke their Israeli citizenship.
The 80-minute film "NAZA" reportedly documents Israel's deployment of AI-powered systems for what the Venice Film Festival's synopsis calls "calculated mass killings" of Palestinians in Gaza. The documentary garnered a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
According to reports, the film includes testimonies from anonymous Israeli military and intelligence personnel who discussed an AI system named "Lavender." This system was allegedly used to monitor telecommunications among Palestinians in Gaza to identify targets for assassination.
Filmmaker Yuval Abraham expressed hope that his documentary would encourage Western governments to impose economic sanctions on Israel.
