Thanks to ‘NAZA’ hysteria, Israel is finally talking about Gaza

Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz on 17 September 2026:

Even before a single Israeli, other than Raviv Drucker, has seen “NAZA,” the film has already made an enormous contribution to the Israeli conversation. Directors Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham have generated hysteria. And that hysteria is the best thing to have happened to Israeli society since October 7, 2023.

For the first time, Israelis are shocked at something that is neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the hostages. For the first time, they are furious, shocked, driven out of their minds by the noise from the Gaza Strip. And in their hearts, they know why.

This wave of hysteria, the likes of which Israel has never seen before, also reveals the true face of nearly the entire society. And what more could we ask of a documentary film, much less before it has even been seen?  This hysteria reveals something that was hidden for years but has suddenly erupted. After years of repression, denial and lies, apathy and indifference, the pus has burst forth in a mighty stream. This is a healthy process, even if it includes ugly manifestations.

Israel has been jolted out of its sick serenity. Suddenly, it is talking about Gaza rather than only about the prices of overseas flights.  “NAZA” destroyed Israelis’ disconnect from reality. This was predictable, even when it seemed that nothing would shake Israelis. But the intensity shows that the abscess is large.

The insane anger at Szor and Abraham shows that they have managed to touch the center of the abscess. And that is painful. The intensity of the response shows that Israelis feel something is burning under their feet. Anyone who cries out in such anger understands that something has gone very wrong. A society confident in its righteousness doesn’t respond like that to a film.

This storm may well die down, but its intensity could also herald a turning point. After we hang the film’s creators in the city square, perhaps someone will understand that this was a last, desperate attempt to evade, strangle and repress the truth.

But that truth will continue to pursue Israel forever, because it’s impossible to escape responsibility for genocide. Just ask the Turks. This guilt will never let us be. It will be an everlasting shame.

“NAZA” also made another important contribution: It ripped off all the masks. From now on, there is no longer a left and a right, enlightened people and benighted ones, humanists and barbarians. Almost as one man, Israelis jumped on this film and thereby exposed their true faces.

Racist journalists stood next to those considered liberal, nationalist politicians were united with those considered democratic. All formed one McCarthyite choir.

After all, what’s the difference between rightist journalist Avri Gilad’s statement that “NAZA” was an acronym for the Hebrew words “malicious antisemitic damage” and centrist journalist Yaron Avraham’s ugly, repulsive denial of any family connection with Yuval Abraham (whose last name is spelled the same in Hebrew)?

What’s the difference between right-wing journalist Amit Segal’s statement that the filmmakers were “supporters of Hamas’ propaganda office” and the learned “methodological” criticism offered by Haaretz columnists Drucker and Uri Misgav, who flee with all their might from dealing with the main point?

“Where is the context?” ask the hypocritical critics, who would never dare to mention the Palestinian context of the October 7 attack. “Where is the evidence?” ask people who know that the most important investigative reports in history – Watergate and the Pentagon Papers, for instance – were based on anonymous testimony. And above all, where are their own investigative reports about Gaza?

They know that “NAZA” is the truth. But they want the names of the soldiers who were interviewed so that they, too, can be hung in the city square alongside the directors.

There’s also no difference between fascist opposition politician Avigdor Lieberman’s statement that they are “haters of Israel who call themselves ‘filmmakers,'” ignorant Culture Minister Miki Zohar’s grotesque call for them to be stripped of citizenship and progressive politician Yair Golan’s cowardly “I condemn.”

The differences are in the packaging. But the content is the same content, and in all these cases, it is terrifyingly McCarthyite.

Szor, Abraham and those courageous soldiers have broken the silence. They deserve great esteem in Israel, and they will get it – but only in the pages of the history books.

This article is reproduced in its entirety