Netanyahu Backs Citizenship Revocation for Filmmakers Criticizing IDF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his support for legislation to revoke the citizenship of Israelis who defame the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the state internationally. "Anyone who defames our soldiers will be hit hard in their pocket," Netanyahu stated, emphasizing the need to protect IDF soldiers. He directed that laws, referred to as "NezA laws" after the film, be prepared and advanced immediately to strip citizenship and impose financial penalties on those who slander Israeli soldiers and the country abroad.

Netanyahu's statement follows a request by Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar to the Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Israel Oz, to examine the process of canceling the Israeli citizenship of Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shor, creators of the film "NezA." The film has drawn significant criticism, particularly after the IDF vehemently rejected a central claim within it as a "complete lie."

The IDF clarified that the testimony forming the basis of this claim lacks factual support and that the alleged attack described in the film was "never planned, approved, or carried out."