Protests Mark New York Premiere of Gaza Film “NAZA” as Directors Receive Death Threats

NEW YORK, “NAZA,” a documentary on Gaza by Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 26 amid tight security and protests. The film features interviews with 24 anonymous former Israeli intelligence officers who describe how and why the Israeli military killed thousands of civilians in Gaza. It focuses largely on Unit 8200, Israel’s elite intelligence unit. The Israeli military has “categorically rejected” the allegations.
Security at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center included metal detectors, bag checks and bomb-sniffing dogs. The Israeli-American Council parked mobile “movie theaters” along Broadway displaying pro-Israel messages and held a rally across the street. All 1,086 seats for the screening sold out immediately.
At the Venice Film Festival, the film drew a 25-minute standing ovation after its first screening and won the Special Jury Prize. Since then, the directors have received death threats, and some Israelis have called for them to be “hunted down.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for both to be stripped of their citizenship and likened the film to firing “dozens of ballistic missiles” at Israel.
Abraham says many of the film’s revelations build on more than 11 earlier investigative reports, including reporting previously corroborated by The Washington Post and The New York Times. He said the identities of the 24 sources were verified by editors at The Guardian, which co-produced the documentary and holds the raw material. Reports say the film will open in more than 50 territories from late September, and The Guardian plans to stream it free online from late November. No distribution plans have emerged for Israel.