Netanyahu orders attorney general to identify and prosecute soldiers interviewed in NAZA, a Guardian-produced documentary on Gaza civilian deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the country’s attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet security service to reveal the identities of soldiers and officers interviewed in the investigative documentary NAZA and prosecute them for causing “harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests.”
The award-winning documentary, directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, details Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza. The film is in cinemas, including in the UK and the US, and will be shown in more than 50 countries.
The Order
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet head David Zini, Netanyahu demanded they “act urgently to uncover the identity of all those who are involved or appear in the libel film.”
Netanyahu also called for “the opening of a criminal investigation and prosecution for serious information security offences, criminal defamation, and harming Israel’s diplomatic and security interests.”
The Film
NAZA premiered last month at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the special jury prize after receiving the longest ovation in the event’s history. It takes its name from an acronym used euphemistically by Israeli intelligence to indicate how many civilians it expects to be killed in an airstrike.
The Israeli government has fiercely attacked Abraham and Szor, threatening to strip them of their citizenship and accusing them of treason. Government supporters have vowed to hound the filmmakers on their return to Israel and picketed Szor’s parents’ home in Savyon, chanting: “Death sentence to traitors.”
The Military’s Response
Zamir denounced the film as an “attack on the state of Israel,” accusing it of spreading “lies and blood libels.” He had earlier ordered military and legal officials to identify the soldiers featured and examine possible legal action against them.
However, Military Advocate General Itai Ofir said criminal prosecution would require evidence of security violations or disclosure of classified material, although disciplinary measures remained possible.
The protection of journalistic sources is a cornerstone of press freedom under international human rights standards, and disclosure orders are permitted only under stringent conditions.
The Reaction
Ricardo Gutiérrez, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, representing over 320,000 journalists, said:
“These threats constitute a blatant act of intimidation against journalists who have simply been doing their job, in strict accordance with ethical standards and in the public interest. I am not surprised by this outburst, which confirms that this regime is prepared to do anything to cover up its crimes against humanity and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
A Guardian spokesperson said: “After first threatening to strip NAZA’s directors of their Israeli citizenship, the Israeli government is now calling for an investigation into their journalistic sources. These moves are all attempts to distract from the urgent questions the film asks about the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
Film industry heavyweights across the globe, including the heads of the Locarno Film Festival, have expressed solidarity with Abraham and Szor, saying they stood “firmly in support of filmmakers’ rights to pursue difficult and urgent subjects without fear of reprisal.”
The Bottom Line
Netanyahu has ordered the identification and prosecution of soldiers interviewed in NAZA, a Guardian-produced documentary on Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza. The film won the special jury prize at Venice. The Israeli government has threatened to strip the directors of citizenship and accused them of treason. Journalists’ organizations and film industry figures have condemned the move as intimidation.
My Opinion
Netanyahu is not trying to protect state secrets. He is trying to silence witnesses. The soldiers and officers who spoke to NAZA did not leak documents to a foreign enemy. They told filmmakers what they saw and did in Gaza. Now the prime minister wants them identified, investigated, and prosecuted for the crime of telling the truth.
This is not about security because if it were, the military advocate general would not have said prosecution requires evidence of classified material disclosure. It is about control, ie making sure that the next soldier who considers speaking out thinks twice. It is about sending a message: if you talk, we will find you.
The threats against the filmmakers are equally revealing. Stripping them of citizenship. Accusing them of treason. Picketing a parent’s home with chants of “death sentence to traitors.” That is the behavior of a government terrified of what the world will see.
