End the Campaign of Threats Against NAZA Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

IDA calls on the Israeli government to withdraw its threats against filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. We also call for an end to the public campaign of intimidation against them.

Since NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, senior Israeli officials have moved against its directors. The Culture Minister has accused them of treason and sought to revoke their citizenship. The Prime Minister has announced bills to revoke the citizenship of anyone who "slanders IDF soldiers" and to raise defamation damages twentyfold.

This official rhetoric has been accompanied by a public campaign against the filmmakers. Graffiti branding them "traitors" has appeared, and protesters have gathered outside the home of Szor's parents. Israeli filmmakers and human rights groups have warned that it could lead to violence. Disagreement with a film must not become a threat to the people who made it.

The Israeli military disputes the film's account, and it is entitled to do so. But as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Israel is bound by Article 19, under which restrictions on expression must be provided by law and be necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim. Revoking citizenship, imposing punitive damages, or opening security investigations in response to a documentary does not meet that test. The UN Human Rights Committee recognizes the protection of journalistic sources as part of freedom of expression, and the filmmakers' right not to disclose the identities of their sources must be upheld.            

The Israel Film Council has also proposed ending credit for international festival selection in public film funding and creating a dedicated funding track for films celebrating IDF soldiers.

Threats of this kind are a risk documentary makers face in the course of their work. More than 1,500 Israeli film professionals, 43 Israeli human rights organizations, and the directors of major international festivals have defended Abraham and Szor.

IDA calls on the Government of Israel to:

• withdraw the threats to revoke Abraham's and Szor's citizenship, and abandon the proposed legislation;
• respect the filmmakers’ journalistic right to refuse to disclose the identities of confidential sources
• reject changes to public film funding that penalize filmmakers for critical work or international recognition.

We also call on everyone taking part in the public debate to reject the intimidation of the filmmakers and their families.

We stand with Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. IDA is ready to support them through our Emergency Assistance Program, as we support other documentarians facing threats for their work.

If you would like to sign on to this letter to show your support for Yuval and Rachel, please fill out THIS FORM. Your name will be added to the public letter, per your publication preferences indicated on the form.

SIGNATORIES

Joel Simon, IDA board member

Joslyn Barnes

Julia Bacha, Documentary Branch member, AMPAS 

Marjan Safinia, AMPAS (Documentary Branch)

Alice Henty, AMPAS

Catherine Gund, AMPAS

Mirra Bank, AMPAS

Rob Epstein, AMPAS, DGA, IDA member 

Abby Ginzberg, Documentary Branch, AMPAS

NINA MENKES, AMPAS- DIRECTORS BRANCH

Dan Cogan

Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Black Valley Films

Susan Lacy, Pentimento productions 

Amelia Hapsari, AMPAS - Documentary Branch

Alison Klayman

Kristi Jacobson, AMPAS

Jeff Reichert, AMPAS
Michèle Stephenson, AMPAS