In Ashdod, a port city near Tel Aviv, a street artist painted on a wall portraits of the directors of the documentary “Naza”, who received a standing ovation in Venice. But it’s not a tribute: their faces are crossed out with the word “TRAISTERS”.
One month before the disputed legislative elections in Israel, this film, which gives voice to anonymous Israeli sources accusing the army of killing numerous civilians in Gaza, triggered a political storm, as well as a shower of threats and intimidation targeting its authors and their loved ones.
In a sign of the ambient climate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he wanted to propose a bill aimed at “stripping of their citizenship people who defame IDF soldiers”. “Their place is not among us,” he said in a video published Wednesday evening on X.
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At the same time, in Savyon, in the center of the country, dozens of people demonstrated in front of the home of the parents of Rachel Szor, co-director of the film with Yuval Abraham, shouting “You are not welcome here!”.
The rally was organized by a far-right influencer, Mordechai David, close to the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir. “This is only the beginning!” he assured.
In Ashdod, the author of the wall portraits rages against the directors, who are currently abroad, by showering them with insults. “I have absolutely no sympathy for all these pro-Palestinians who speak from abroad,” Dudi Shuval told AFP.
“Collateral damage”
These reactions illustrate the exacerbation of nationalist sentiment in the run-up to the October 27 elections, where the war launched in Gaza in reaction to the attacks of October 7, 2023 will be a central subject.
The anger, mainly carried by the right and the far right, was reinforced by the long ovation received last week by “Naza” at the Venice Film Festival, where it also received the special jury prize.
The documentary is based on the anonymous testimonies of 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel who expose how, according to them, Israeli forces intentionally kill many civilians during strikes against the Islamist movement Hamas.
“Naza” is the military acronym for the “collateral damage” estimated before each strike, according to the documentary.
The army strongly denied these assertions, ensuring that it did everything to avoid civilian casualties and criticizing the documentary for giving voice to anonymous people whose participation in operations in Gaza cannot be verified.
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And political leaders almost unanimously condemned the documentary. Gadi Eisenkot, Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival, denounced Monday on X “an attack on the State of Israel at a difficult time.”
The boss of the Democrats party, Yair Golan, said the same day with a terse “I condemn”. He also accused the Prime Minister of using this affair to divert attention from criticism of his management of October 7, which had intensified in recent weeks.
Investigation of anonymous sources
In Israel, criticizing the way the army conducts its operations in Gaza is taboo. On the sidelines of the Mostra last week, Yuval Abraham deplored to AFP the absence of “discussion about the crimes that were committed” in the Palestinian territory, accusing the authorities of “preventing people from talking about it”.
A rare dissonant voice, the Israeli-Palestinian movement Standing Together welcomed a film which “reveals a new aspect of the war of annihilation in Gaza”.
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On Wednesday, Culture Minister Miki Zohar, who accused the directors of “state treason”, contacted the domestic intelligence services to demand an investigation into the film’s anonymous sources.
With AFP
