LONDON: Israel\u2019s reaction to a documentary about its conduct in the war in Gaza has proven \u201cmuch more venal\u201d than expected, one of its directors has said, The Guardian reported on Friday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the UK premier of \u201cNAZA,\u201d which interviews 24 Israeli military personnel about the use of artificial intelligence-led surveillance in Gaza, Jonathan Glazer said it contains \u201cvery similar themes\u201d to his 2023 film \u201cThe Zone of Interest\u201d about the lives of Nazi officers working at Auschwitz concentration camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cNAZA,\u201d which details how AI was used to target Hamas operatives despite the knowledge that Israel\u2019s actions would cause widespread civilian casualties, was released at the Venice Film Festival where it received a record 25-minute standing ovation and a special award.<\/p>\n
Produced in partnership with The Guardian, it will be shown in cinemas in more than 50 countries and outperformed Marvel movie \u201cAvengers Endgame: Encore\u201d on its opening weekend in Italy.<\/p>\n
The reaction by the Israeli government has been furious, announcing plans to strip people who \u201csmear\u201d Israeli soldiers of their citizenship.<\/p>\n
The film\u2019s directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, have been accused of treason, and security officials have been instructed to prosecute soldiers who took part in the film.<\/p>\n
The Israeli government has also pushed a separate film project mimicking the style of \u201cNAZA\u201d in a bid to undermine the allegations made in the award-winning documentary.<\/p>\n
Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military\u2019s chief of staff, said it would use \u201cevery tool at our disposal\u201d to counter \u201cNAZA,\u201d and the army released a 10-page document refuting many of its claims.<\/p>\n
Szor\u2019s parents, meanwhile, were subjected to a protest outside their house by people demanding she face the death penalty for creating the film.<\/p>\n
A mural was also painted in the city of Ashdod depicting Szor and Abraham viewed through gun crosshairs.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Katharine Viner, The Guardian\u2019s editor-in-chief, Glazer said the reaction was \u201cexpected\u201d but also \u201cin my point of view \u2026 much more venal\u201d than anticipated.<\/p>\n
Addressing the audience after the New York premier, Szor said: \u201cOur country is doing so much to hide these systems. It\u2019s not a world that is open even to the Israeli public.\u201d<\/p>\n
The duo made the decision to shoot footage inside apartments in Tel Aviv so as to let viewers see the \u201critual\u201d of Israelis watching the war on television which, Abraham said, is one of the \u201cmechanisms that allow human beings to do this to other human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2024, \u201cThe Zone of Interest\u201d won the Academy Award for best international film. Glazer said in his acceptance speech that he opposed \u201cJewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cAll our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present, not to say look what they did then, but rather look what we do now.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It\u2019s shaped all of our past and present.\u201d<\/p>\n
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