Israeli Minister Vows to Revoke Citizenship of Filmmakers Behind Controversial Venice Award Winner

Israel's Minister of Culture and Sports, Miki Zohar, announced on Sunday his intention to pursue the revocation of Israeli citizenship for filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shor. This action follows their documentary film "No Other Land" (Nez'a) winning a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. Zohar vehemently criticized the film, describing its narrative as a "blood libel" against Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza and a betrayal of the nation.

"The burning self-hatred of the creators, who are willing to harm their homeland to receive applause from antisemites around the world, is incomprehensible and constitutes treason against the state," Zohar stated. He further asserted that this situation underscores the necessity of his recent reforms in cinema funding, aimed at preventing Israeli taxpayer money from supporting content that allegedly harms IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.

The 80-minute documentary "No Other Land" is based on interviews with 24 individuals who purportedly served in the IDF and intelligence services, though their identities are concealed. The film aims to portray the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza as a system responsible for intentional and widespread harm to Gaza's residents. The official Venice Film Festival synopsis claims the film exposes the systems behind what it terms Israel's "calculated mass murder of Palestinian civilians in Gaza."

The film received a standing ovation at its premiere in Venice, with attendees reportedly waving Palestinian flags. The IDF has categorically rejected the film's claims, stating that the identities and roles of the anonymous interviewees cannot be verified. The military emphasized that decisions regarding strikes are made by humans, and technological systems serve only as auxiliary tools.