The film NAZA, which interviews Israeli soldiers about the methods and systems behind the mass killings in Gaza, has hit a raw nerve in Israeli Jewish society, sparking outrage and fury, with accusations of lies and treason, of violence and intimidation from people who have not even seen the film.

 Gili Getz

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8 hours ago ·

The film NAZA, which interviews Israeli soldiers about the methods and systems behind the mass killings in Gaza, has hit a raw nerve in Israeli Jewish society, sparking outrage and fury, with accusations of lies and treason, of violence and intimidation from people who have not even seen the film.

This is happening despite a pervasive discourse in Israeli society following the Oct 7 massacre that there are “no innocents in Gaza” and the widespread mass dehumanization of Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank. There is enormous outrage at a film for examining the system of killing behind the atrocities in Gaza. A mix of denial, trauma, justification and simply an instinct to defend Israel in the face of growing isolation.

So it was important to see filmmaker Yuval Abraham interviewed yesterday on Israeli television by Raviv Drucker, who had actually seen the film. The film looks to open a space for this conversation in Israel.

The argument that October 7 was omitted from the film is not true. Israeli Jews are rightfully suspicious of narratives about Gaza that erase October 7th. Or of Hamas. Drucker argued that the film did not give October 7 enough time. They also debated the methods of verification, the anonymity of the soldiers interviewed, and other journalistic questions.

But at the end of the interview, Yuval asked Drucker a much bigger question: How is it that there has been no Israeli television investigative reporting, including by Drucker himself, into the methods of killing in Gaza over the past three years? Why have Israeli journalists not investigated the use of AI, the targeting process, and the enormous number of civilian casualties? He said he found many soldiers waiting to speak about it.

They did not discuss the criticism of the film coming from pro-Palestinian voices. The frustration over the attention to Israeli Jewish voices and not Palestinians.

There are no foreign journalists reporting from Gaza because Israel has prevented foreign press from entering. And roughly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war began. This makes independent investigation of what is actually happening in Gaza extraordinarily difficult. What we know should shock everyone who cared about the sanctity and dignity of human life itself. The level of suffering and almost daily killing of children should alarm all of us.

It’s important to say that recognizing the crimes Israeli government had and is now committing is in no way minimizing what Hamas has done and is doing to our people and to the Palestinian people. The both have to leave power before anything will get better.

Another film was screened this week, also receiving a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival: the Israeli film Our Loves, about survivors of October 7th.

How much of the Palestinian suffering was included? Enough time? Any?

Can’t wait to see both films. My pain and grief is not limited to one people. That’s how I guard my own humanity. Despite the personal criticism and insults - I insist on it.