Netanyahu Demands Investigation into NAZA Documentary Participants

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded on Sunday that Israel’s justice system prosecute participants in the documentary film NAZA for severe information security offenses, criminal defamation, and damage to diplomatic and security interests, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Netanyahu Demands Criminal Investigation Into NAZA Participants

According to a letter released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the prime minister asked IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Shin Bet Director David Zini, and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to launch a comprehensive investigation into the individuals involved in the project. The letter states that the film spins a false, misleading, and biased narrative that defames the State of Israel and the IDF globally and severely damages Israel’s standing, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The controversy surrounds a documentary created by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who previously co-directed the 2024 film No Other Land, Mashable reported. The project consists almost entirely of interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence officers conducted at night on Tel Aviv rooftops, where subjects discuss how the military employs artificial intelligence and surveillance systems to target and kill Palestinians, according to Mashable.

The Documentary Release And Counter-Project Launch

In response to the Venice-awarded project, three Israeli creators—Roy Danino, Hagai Gutman, and Ariel Orbuch—released a documentary titled NAZA: The Real Story with English subtitles to directly counter and discredit the original film, the Jerusalem Post reported. The creators position their project as an explicit rebuttal of the original film’s anonymous whistleblower claims, according to the Jerusalem Post.

National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Tzipi Hotovely presented certificates of appreciation to the creators of NAZA: The Real Story on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced. The PMO stated that the counter-project features testimonies from soldiers that refute blood libels against IDF soldiers and commanders while defending the state and its military, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Conflicting Claims Over Military Tactics In Gaza

The original documentary focuses on military terminology and automated targeting systems, including an AI program called Lavender used to select targets with minimal human involvement, and a system called Where’s Daddy? that monitors family text messages to strike targets at home, Mashable reported. Interviewees in the film discuss the Hebrew acronym NAZA, derived from nezek agavi, which refers to collateral damage calculations when determining acceptable additional casualties for a strike, according to Mashable.

Defending the military’s operational reality, Guy Hazut wrote in The Media Line that Hamas built its military power within civilian spaces over many years by constructing tunnels beneath neighborhoods and placing weapons inside buildings. Hazut argued that expecting the IDF to sacrifice soldiers to protect enemy civilians is neither realistic nor morally sustainable, noting that the military operated with significant self-imposed constraints to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, according to The Media Line.

Expanding to Global Theaters

The documentary NAZA opened at the New York Film Festival and began screening at the IFC Center in New York City’s Greenwich Village, before expanding to select U.S. theaters, according to San Juan Daily Star and Mashable reports. Meanwhile, the counter-project NAZA: The Real Story dropped with English subtitles to shape the global narrative, the Jerusalem Post reported.