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 support this statement, you can add your name as a signatory by completing THIS FORM. Please review the letter before signing and provide your information so that we can accurately identify signatories and, where applicable, publish their names and affiliations.

SIGNATORIES

Joslyn Barnes
Julia Bacha, Documentary Branch member, AMPAS
Mark Ruffalo
Marjan Safinia, AMPAS (Documentary Branch)
Alice Henty, AMPAS
Catherine Gund, AMPAS
Joel Simon, IDA board member
Mirra Bank, AMPAS
Rob Epstein, AMPAS, DGA, IDA member
Kirby Dick
Abby Ginzberg, Documentary Branch, AMPAS
NINA MENKES, AMPAS- DIRECTORS BRANCH
Dan Cogan
Kirsten Johnson
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
Connie Field, AMPAS Doc Branch
Gini Reticker, AMPAS
Tia Lessin, AMPAS member
Nazrin Choudhury, AMPAS & BAFTA
Carl Deal, AMPAS, WGA, DGA
deborah m. dickson, AMPAS
Stevie Wang Breal, AMPAS, WGA
Jennifer Tiexiera