The controversial documentary, NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, clinched the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The day after its win, Minister Miki Zohar declared his intent to "act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship" of the directing duo.

Zohar minced no words, publicly branding NAZA as "vile" and the Venice Film Festival's recognition of it as "shocking." He accused the filmmakers of "self-loathing" and a willingness to "harm their homeland just to get applause from antisemites around the world," deeming their actions "inconceivable and a betrayal of the state." The minister further referenced his previous "important reform in cinema" aimed at preventing Israeli citizens from funding projects perceived as detrimental to IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.

NAZA, a late but impactful addition to Venice's competition lineup, garnered an impressive 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere. The film, from two of the four directors behind the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, delves into the Israeli military's use of the Hebrew acronym "NAZA" (Nezek Agavi, meaning collateral damage) to denote an acceptable loss of civilian life during operations against suspected Hamas militants. The documentary suggests that the permissible number of "NAZA" was fluid, ranging from a handful to potentially hundreds of lives in a single attack, according to interviews with Israeli military personnel.

The film's content has drawn sharp criticism from other prominent figures, including former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Bennett condemned NAZA and its creators, stating that portraying Israeli reservists and soldiers as "perpetrators of ‘genocide’ is not courageous art. It is a cowardly blood libel."

Minister Zohar has a history of vocal opposition to Israeli films critical of the country. In a July video, he denounced filmmakers who used government funds to critique Israel, vowing to redirect state money from "films that Israel haters love to films that Israelis love," signaling "the end of the era where Israeli soldiers are blackened at the expense of Israeli citizens."