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The Daily

The Israeli Film Directors Pushing for a Reckoning in Their Home Country

Our interview with the directors of “NAZA.”
Duration
34m
Broadcast on
12 Oct 2026
Audio Format
other

The documentary film “NAZA,” which investigates the methods the Israeli military has used in the war in Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, received a record-breaking standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival last month. Just a few days later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would propose legislation that could revoke the directors’ Israeli citizenship, arguing that they had defamed their country.

Now, with a global theatrical release underway, the directors spoke with “The Daily” to discuss the film and all the pushback that it — and they — have experienced.

Guest: 

  • Rachel Szor, an Israeli investigative journalist, film director and activist.
  • Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist, film director and Arabic-Hebrew translator.

Background reading: 

Photo: Stefano Rellandini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images, The Guardian/IFC Center, Ander Gillenea/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is The Daily. The special jury prize goes to NASA by Uval Abraham and Rachel Scissor. Documentary NASA received widespread acclaim when it premiered last month at the Venice Film Festival. It won a top prize and it got a record-breaking standing ovation for 25 minutes. But reception for the film in Israel could not be more different. The two Israeli directors are being accused of damaging Israel's reputation in the world and of betraying their own country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he proposed legislation that could revoke the filmmaker's citizenship. All of this, despite the fact that the film has not been released in Israel. NASA investigates the methods that the Israeli army used in Gaza and the aftermath of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7. From dark rooftops in Tel Aviv, the film features testimony from 24 anonymous military intelligence officers and soldiers. They discuss both the military policies that led to the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and their part in it. The Israeli military has pushed back on the film, saying that it misrepresents its efforts to avoid harming civilians. And so today, we speak to the directors of NASA, Uval Abraham and Rachel Schor, about their film and about how they're pushing for a reckoning in their home country. It's Monday, October 12. Rachel Schor, Uval Abraham, welcome to the daily. Thank you. Thank you. I think it's sort of fair to say that the two of you are experiencing some extremes. Your film, NASA, got a standing ovation. Actually, it was a record-breaking standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. And at the same time, the film, even though most Israelis have not seen it because it hasn't been released there, has inspired a lot of anger back in Israel. Rachel, for example, I understand that there have been protesters outside of your family's house. Yeah. So I just want to ask you guys both just how you're doing, how you're feeling in this moment. Yeah. It's been intense. The response has been very aggressive towards the film. You know, the demonstrations next to my parents' house were calling to hang us, like, a lot of violence towards us. But I think we also feel that it at least also creates some sort of conversation about what we have done and doing in Gaza. Because for the last three years, there hasn't been any conversation about this. And just to say that we made this film in Hebrew with testimonies of the soldiers because we want to reach the Israeli society. Yeah, I agree. I mean, that's what I try to hold on to as some kind of meaning in all of this that in, as Rachel was saying, in the conversations that have now been sparked as a result of the film. And I think, you know, part of the reason why we made this film is to try to make sense

Transcription truncated.

Our interview with the directors of “NAZA.”