Israeli Culture Minister Vows to Revoke Citizenship of 'Nuzi' Film Directors

Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar announced Sunday evening that he would seek to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the directors of the film "Nuzi," following its win of the Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. The film, directed by Oscar-winning Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was also nominated by some critics for the Golden Lion award.

Zohar stated, "As Minister of Culture, I will immediately take action to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these detestable directors on charges of treason." He further wrote that the film's win was "shocking" and that the "self-hatred of the filmmakers, who are willing to harm their country to gain applause from antisemites worldwide, is unbelievable and constitutes treason."

The film "Nuzi," which was added late to the festival program, reportedly features testimonies from Israeli military personnel about the war in Gaza and what they describe as the systematic killing of Palestinian civilians. It received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere, the longest in the festival's history, surpassing the 24-minute ovation for last year's "Farha."

"Nuzi," named after an Israeli intelligence term for the estimated number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike, is based on interviews with 24 anonymous sources within the Israeli military and intelligence community. Upon receiving the award, Abraham noted that at least six Palestinian children had been killed in Gaza in the ten days following the festival's start. He told the audience that Israeli intelligence officers had informed them that these mass killings were systematic and planned, involving dehumanizing policies against Palestinians.