"Execute these traitors": death threats to the directors of the documentary 'Naza'
Far-right activists harass directors at their homes and through social media
BarcelonaMurals on the streets, protesters in front of their homes, calls on social media. Pro-Israel militants have begun a persecution campaign against the directors of the documentary No Other Land, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, a film that denounces the killing of civilians by the Israeli army through testimonies from soldiers. After being premiered and awarded in Venice, the documentary is scheduled to be screened at the New York Film Festival. On the festival's own Instagram post, there are already intimidating threats such as: "Yuval, don't come back, I recommend it". This Monday, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, deemed the documentary "an intolerable antisemitic incitement".
Far-right activists and dozens of people have protested in front of Rachel Szor's house with the slogan "Execute these traitors". The ultranationalist Mordechai David, who has a large reach on social media, encourages pursuing them all over the country, both them and their families. Another convicted far-right activist, Ziv Baranes, has called for putting pressure on the director's home. Personalities such as the former Hamas hostage in Gaza, Eli Cohen, is one of those who has promoted the demonstrations, and has asked to spread images and hang posters on every street showing the filmmakers' faces so that there is a media persecution. In 2024, after the Oscar for the documentary No other land, the filmmaker Yuval Abraham had already suffered demonstrations in front of his home.
The journalist Yehuda Schlesinger defended, on an Israeli television channel closely linked to the government: "Pursue them, pursue them, do not give them a break. If they dare to set foot in Israel, they should not be given even a minute". With images created using artificial intelligence, they have viralized videos of the two directors in prison and another walking through the streets of Gaza being attacked by Palestinians, content published by the ultra-minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. These videos have been denounced by the Israel Journalists Union, which in a strong statement defended freedom of expression as a tool to allow debate. A few days ago the Minister of Culture announced the intention to revoke the citizenship of Israeli artists.
On Tuesday, the graffiti artist Dudi Shoval made a painting on a street in Ashkelon with the faces of the two journalists holding a sign with a number as if they were prisoners and above it the word "traitors". The following night the drawing appeared corrected with the word "heroes" over the word "traitors", which shows us a great division of opinions on the part of Israeli citizens.
The Israel Film Council, a body that advises the government, has requested the urgent screening of the film among its members. It considers that, otherwise, "serious doubts are raised and the suspicion is reinforced that it is a manipulated propaganda film" by the enemies of the state, that is, Hamas.
