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

Tabitha Jackson,  Film Forum; AMPAS

Carla Gutierrez, AMPAS/ACE 

Amber Fares, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Joslyn Barnes

Julia Bacha, Documentary Branch member, AMPAS 

Mark Ruffalo

Marjan Safinia, AMPAS (Documentary Branch)

Alice Henty, AMPAS

David France, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Raoul Peck

Alex Gibney

Brett Story, AMPAS

Catherine Gund, AMPAS

Joel Simon, IDA board member

Grace Lee, AMPAS

Julie Goldman, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Mirra Bank, AMPAS

Rob Epstein, AMPAS, DGA, IDA member 

Craig Aaron, Free Press

Kirby Dick

Abby Ginzberg, Documentary Branch, AMPAS

Abigail Disney, Independent Filmmaker

NINA MENKES, AMPAS- DIRECTORS BRANCH

Dan Cogan

Kirsten Johnson

Laura Poitras, AMPAS, DGA, BAFTA

Ina Fichman, AMPAS, President IDA BOD 

Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Black Valley Films

Susan Lacy, Pentimento productions 

Amelia Hapsari, AMPAS - Documentary Branch

Nanfu Wang

Lucila Moctezuma, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Robert Bahar, AMPAS Documentary Branch member

Lisa Cortés, AMPAS, DGA

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

Loira Limbal

Carl Deal, AMPAS, WGA, DGA

deborah m. dickson, AMPAS

Stevie Wang Breal, AMPAS, WGA 

Jennifer Tiexiera, AMPAS, IDA Board Member

Vanessa Hope, Double Hope Films

Lior Shamriz

Ted Hope

Amy Ziering, AMPAS

Sonya Childress, Color Congress, AMPAS

Sahar Driver, Color Congress

Lindsey Dryden, AMPAS Documentary Branch, BAFTA voting member

Orlando von Einsiedel, AMPAS

Sushmit Ghosh, AMPAS Doc Branch

Marcia Jarmel

Sarah Mowaswes

Ry Levey 

Miriam Cutler, IDA, Motion Picture Academy Documentary Branch

Amarsanaa Battulga

Marilyn Agrelo

Jeff Deutchman

Cynthia Kane

Kellen Quinn, AMPAS

SANJIB DAS

Sebastien Rabas

Javier bardem

David Leith Fraser

Roger Weisberg, Public Policy Productions, Inc.

Zoe Stricker

Sarah Burns

Gala Hernández López

Miguel Hilari

Rémi Grellety, AMPAS Doc Branch, IDA, European Film Academy

Jeanette Lloyd

Maria Rocha

Gabriel Rhodes, AMPAS

Anna Briggs

Jerry Risius, Filmmaker/Cinematographer

Marcia Rock, IDA

Charlie Phillips, Documentary Association of Europe

Alan Weeks

Sherry Milner, CUNY

Ellen Tolmie

Roger Ross Williams

Lisa Valencia-Svensson, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Jessica, Hankey, Associated Fellow, Harvard Film Study Center

Christopher Hird, Dartmouth Films 

Dan Lindsay

Kaveh Farnam

Anne Köhncke, AMPAS

Arwen Curry, Filmmaker

Caryn Capotosto, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Documentary Branch

Bec Evans

Doug Block, The D-Word

Stephanie Lowry, AMPAS

Tom Hurwitz, ASC, ASC, AAMPAS

Rui Pires

Hilary E Davis

Pete Levine

Dan Sadowsky, IDA

Deborah Kalin, SisterLightning

Christine Turner, AMPAS

Ilana Bar-Din Giannini, LCSW

Anna Dorris

Eurie Chung

Darianna Cardilli, International Documentary Association

Alan Swyer, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America

Judy Branfman

Maya E. Rudolph

Judy Hoffman, Kartemquin Films

Daniel Malek

Gordon Quinn, Kartemquin Films

Sandy Greer, Filmmaker/Writer

Beadie Finzi, AMPAS

Deia Schlosberg, Pale Blue Dot Media

Deborah Kaufman, Snitow-Kaufman Productions

Jeff Werner

Markie Hancock

Kate Taverna, AMPAS

Linda Blackaby

Lauren Kushner

Julia Pacetti, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

Rodney Evans, Filmmaker

Alan Snitow, Snitow-Kaufman Productions

Natasha Dack Ojumu, AMPAS, BAFTA 

Adrián Gutiérrez

Don Edkins, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Lyn Goldfarb, Academy Award-nominated Documentary filmmaker

Catherine L. Benamou, UC Irvine

Catherine Ryan

Asad Muhammad

Joe Berlinger , AMPAS, ATAS, DGA, WGA, PGA, BAFTA, NBR

Harold Crooks

Guy Davidi

Smriti Mundhra, Member, Documentary Branch, AMPAS

Lisa Leeman, AMPAS (documentary branch); IDA; DPA

David Zeiger, Displaced Films

Lindsey Dryden

Donald Young

Eva Zhang, USC

Callum Dodsley

Carlos Monterrey

Scooter McCrae

Brian Reilly

Faye Ellman

Jeffrey Friedman, AMPAS, DGA

Marc Levin

Ezra Edelman

Dan Edelstyn, Optimistic Productions Ltd

Betsy Carson, Face to Face Media Ltd

Judith Ehrlich, AMPAS (Documentary Branch)

joan churchill, AMPAS

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, AMPAS Documentary branch

Marian Levy

Stephen Sarsfield

Ximena Amescua, Firelight Media

Michael Ehrenzweig

Megan Durnford, Megan Durnford Productions

Diana Kushner, Independent film director

Gerry Potter, Red Heeler Media/DOC member

Karen S. Shapiro, bdks productions

Geeta Gandbhir

Ferne Pearlstein, Ampas

Robert Edwards, WGA

Pamela Grady

Aviva Slesin, AMPAS, DGA

Ben Sharif, bdks Productions

Rick Goldsmith, Independent documentary, Filmmaker

Joey Jovanovich

Elias Savada

Jenni Morello

Ruy Garcia, AMPAS

Joanna Natasegara, AMPAS, BAFTA

Lu Mukerjee, Firelight Media

Ned Hallick

Adam Marshall Present

Almudena Carracedo, AMPAS Doc Branch member

John Gianvito

Susan Margolin, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Axel Baumann

Michael Fried

Sonja Henrici

Josh Polon, Documentary Producers Alliance

Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, AMPAS (Documentary Branch)

Poh Si Teng, American Doctor

Kirstine Barfod, AMPAS

Nicole Armour

Jeff Seelbach

Terrie Samundra

Lisa Ito, Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP)

Lauren Peterson

Lana Wilson, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Laura Nix, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Ciro Nestor Novelli, Curandero Producciones

Claire Aguilar

Ben Grossman

Meena Nanji

Melody London, AMPAS

Kavery Kaul

Rachel Denny, IDA

Julia Solomonoff, AMPAS

Emma D. Miller

Shuchi Talati, Filmmaker

Thomas Charles Lapp, Chuck Lapp, Documentary Organization of Canada

Buddy Squires, AMPAS - Documentary

Kathy Wazana

Nadine May 

Richard Rowley

Alfred Vernis, ESADE-Universitat Ramon Llull

Jenny Ash, Ash Films

Nora Philippe

Geoff Arbourne, Inside Out Films

Alyx Arumpac

Caterina Monzani, miafilm

Hugh Hartford

JL Maldonado

Juli Suàrez, LGC Films

Eleanor Emptage, Tara Films

Carla Valdés León

Cristina Andreu Cuevas

Chus Domínguez

Elise Rappoport, Independent contractor 

Alberto Lobelle 

Dewi Gregory

Javier Barbero Montes, DOCMA

Charley Spaan, Charley, Impact producer NL No Other Land

Martin Granata, DOCMA, AMAE

Nicoleta Cîrlig, Nicoleta Cîrlig

Alessandra Sanguinetti

Steve Speed

Eva Gamallo

Sladjana Petrovic Varagic, art historian, cultural manager

Matija Štifanić

Jenny Jo Stokka

Violet Du Feng

Liz Garbus, Filmmaker

Carlos Esbert

Anabelle Marshall

Patricia Roda

Sam Bisbee, AMPAS

Roser Corella Perelló, Roser Corella, Moving Mountains Films

David Pérez

JT Takagi, AMPAS

GIOVANNA RIBES, ASOCIACIÓN DONA I CINEMA

Marialuisa Ernst, IDA, BGDM, Film Fatales, DPA

Rabab Haj Yahya, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Deirdre Fishel

Rachel Leah Jones, AMPAS, IDA, EFA, APSA 

Feli Dreves Keim, Feli Dreves Keim, Scopia Films

Svetla Turnin, Cinema Politica

FerArias

Faustina Thogersen Saiani 

Sonia Kennebeck, AMPAS

Sandra Kece

Professor Emma Davie, AMPAS

Julie Anderson, AMPAS

Daniel Francis 

Alan Barker, Duck in a Tree Inc.

Lance Kramer

Nuria Giménez

Robin Sheppard

Reem Haddad, American Doctor

Iñaki Alforja

Mara Adina

Libby Lenkinski, Albi

Poping AuYeung, AMPAS

Camille Bildsøe, Film Director 

Patxi Uriz, Ultreia films

Alexander Nanau

Yaël Bitton, Ampas

Ikonija Jeftić

Shrihari Sathe

Samantha deManbey

Will Frank

Iratxe Fresneda, EHU

Victor Luengo, DOCMA

Cornelia Principe, Independent Producer 

Muffie Meyer, Middlemarch Films, Inc.

Julian Cautherley, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Adolfo Dufour Andía, DOCMA

Sigrid Dyekjær, Producer Real Lava, Denmark

Shira Arad

Hanne Phlypo, Clin d'oeil films

Lars Skree, Lars Skree

Guy Nattiv

Lior Elefant 

Izaskun Arandia, Filmmaker (IZAR Films)

Abbie Fields

Gloria Vega

Toomas Järvet, Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre

Audrey Maurion

vanessa del campo

Ed Barreveld, Storyline Entertainment 

Hilla Medalia

Maayan Porat

Jacki Ochs, AMPAS, Documentary Branch

Ruchi Mtal

Stephanie Fuchs, Autlook 

Erin Casper, AMPAS, BAFTA, ACE

Aurélien Marsais

Danae Elon

Ane Helmer

Ashley O'Shay, Documentary Filmmaker

Alvise Tedesco

Marcia G. Yerman

Helene Harder 

Jordi Wijnalda, solidarity campaigner

Amy Miller

Ruth Fertig, Ruth Fertig

Asger Hussain 

Melina Leon, Melina Leon

Jasmine Kainy

Alfonso Palazón Meseguer, DOCMA

Linda Goldstein Knowlton, IDA

Valérie Montmartin, Little Big Story

Karen Ranucci

Tal Elkayam

jan rofekamp, films transit

Bruce Cohen, Committee for the First Amendment, DGA, Producers United 

Arum NAM

JUAN ROBLES, ETNOLAB UAM UNIVERSITY LABORATORY

Alberto Pascual Rodríguez

Javier PACKER Y COMYN

Virginia Díaz González

Ricardo Acosta, AMPAS, CCE

Joëlle Alexis , Longshot 

Raquel Gómez Rosado 

Philippe FAUCON

Beth Aala, AMPAS

Joram Willink, filmproducer 

Tracie Holder

Ricardo Acosta, AMPAS, Documentary branch, CCE.

Jacob Tobia, WGAW

Karen Nordentoft

Jennifer L. Pozner, Media critic/author

Regge Life

Seth Stern, Freedom of the Press Foundation

Martina Radwan

Droo Padhiar, BAFTA / BIFA / IDA

Tonje Hessen Schei, Dox Division

Max Stahl

Kamma Overgaard Hansen 

Jes Vesconte

Isabel Castro

Joe Van Wye

Daniel  Efram, Tractor Beam

Alysa Nahmias, AMPAS

Sharon Wood

Jose Luis Salomon, AEC, DOCMA

Gabriel Lezra

Julie Cohen, Documentary Filmmaker

Salomé Jashi, DOCA Documentary Association Georgia

John Hoffman, AMPAS Documentary Branch

Camilla Nielsson 

Signe Byrge Sørensen

Jonathan Ofir

Brent E. Huffman

Rachel A Antell

Peter Drössler, Producer / FlarFilm Vienna, Austria

Kimberly Reed

François Sculier

Nisha Pahuja, AMPAS- Documentary Branch 

Stephanie Jenkins

Jack Hanley, HanleyOnFilm.com

Ted Passon

Julia Loktev

Sandi Sissel, ASC

Margot

Joanie Blum, IATSE retired

Colleen Stratton

Stephanie Brancaforte, Rinascimento Green