The Israeli government is promoting an online film project that mimics the style of the award-winning documentary NAZA, in an effort to counter its findings. NAZA details Israel’s mass killings of civilians in Gaza and is directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
Israeli embassies have been promoting a link to a hastily produced online film titled 'NAZA: The Real Story'. This film, hosted on nazadocumentary.com, mimics some of the original documentary's style, including the use of anonymised interviews shot on rooftops in Tel Aviv.
Ariel Averbuch, an Israeli attorney and army reservist who made the new documentary, described it as an “offensive move” to shift focus from allegations about the Israeli military’s killing of civilians. The Israeli government has also denounced the original NAZA film and announced plans to strip Abraham and Szor of their citizenship, accusing them of treason.
The website for 'NAZA: The Real Story' initially falsely presented itself as a promotional page for the original NAZA, naming Abraham and Szor as directors. This wording was later removed, and the site now features the rival film, with a counter suggesting over 42 million views, despite its official YouTube page listing only 30,000 views.
A Guardian spokesperson stated that the Israeli government's promotion of the film on a website that initially made false claims was a “brazen attempt to mislead audiences and distract from the urgent questions raised by NAZA.”