‘NAZA’ Co-Director Yuval Abraham Calls Out the U.S. Government for ‘Funding’ Israel’s Destruction of Gaza, Telling NYFF Audience: ‘This Is What Your Country Is Supporting’

The Gaza documentary “NAZA” made its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival to a massive standing ovation for co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor who gave a brief Q&A with festival director Dennis Lim after the screening. Journalist and co-director Abraham told the crowd, many of whom were still drying their eyes after bearing witness in the documentary to footage of the destruction of Gaza, that it was essential to play “NAZA” at NYFF because the U.S. is responsible for funding billions to the Israeli government and supplying military aid, which is being used against the Palestinian people. The documentary was shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv and shows “in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” It is now set to release in more than 50 territories before becoming available to stream for free on The Guardian’s website.

Since its premiere, the directors have come under fire from a number of Israeli officials — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the introduction of a law that would “revoke the citizenship of anyone who slanders IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers” following the film’s debut, while Israel’s Minister of Culture threatened to revoke the filmmaker’s Israeli citizenship. Outside the festival screening, the Israeli-American Council organized a more than 50-person protest against the film, which they described as “anti-Israel,” and said “makes serious allegations about the IDF’s conduct in the Gaza Strip while ignoring findings and information that contradict its claims.” Those in attendance gathered by LED trucks that projected footage from October 7 and portraits of those who were killed that day. Does it justify the slaughter of so many civilians in Gaza?”