“Naza” causes an uproar: death threats and right-wing agitation

The crowd claps and cheers as the star of the event makes his entrance. "Mordecai David! Mordecai David," shout teenagers and grown men as if this were an outdoor rock concert. Women lean towards the young man and take a selfie. But David, black baseball cap and wide grin, is not a pop singer. But a right-wing extremist activist who the Israeli Shin Bet secret service has already visited twice to check whether he is dangerous. David confirmed this to the newspaper Ha'aretz last year. He has several restraining orders and a conviction for attempted arson.

On this humid Wednesday evening, David stands in front of Rachel Szor's parents' small villa in a wealthy community outside Tel Aviv. With him came right-wing influencers, activists and outraged citizens. Their anger is directed at the documentary “Naza,” made by Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham. In it, two dozen Israeli soldiers and secret service agents describe how high the tolerance for human collateral damage is in Gaza. In other words: civilian casualties. And how little the army is worried about how the killing of civilians is taken into account in AI-supported warfare. It is estimated that around 73,000 people died in Gaza, at least half of whom were children, women and the elderly.

The film caused a stir at the Venice International Film Festival. And at home in Israel for death threats. “Death to traitors!” screams a woman in front of the villa, not far from two elementary school-aged girls. “It’s all lies, we know our army,” says another elegantly dressed woman. “Our military has morals, I know everything is wrong,” added a 50-year-old man waving an Israeli flag. “My son serves.”

There were calls for this protest on social networks, and around 40 to 50 people gathered. Some have children with them, others their poodles and dachshunds. One drove straight here from the beach, took off his swimming trunks and hoisted up the Israeli flag. Nobody here has seen the film, but that is of secondary importance. They scream against something that no one among them has looked at, but that everyone thinks they know.

The documentary has also caused uproar among conservative politicians. Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced that he would revoke the citizenship of the two filmmakers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to introduce a corresponding law for Israelis who defame the army and called the documentary “shocking incitement.” The military denies any accusation.

The allegations are not new. The Israeli medium +972 Magazine had already written in 2024 about high civilian casualty rates and a lack of responsibility caused by AI-supported military systems. However, the film has now received a lot more attention. And Israel is in the middle of an election campaign, with elections scheduled to take place on October 27th.

Activist David steps almost modestly into the middle of the circle and takes the loudspeaker in his hand, influencers shoot selfie videos around him. A cameraman accused of working for left-wing media is surrounded and chased away. “Our military is the most important thing,” the demonstrators shout.

A neighbor of the family strolls inconspicuously through the women and men waving flags of various military departments. He himself is in the military, he says, and knows that they try to do as little bad things as possible. But he hasn't seen the film, so he can't comment on it. He views the protest critically. "We have elections. It's all for the elections. Someone is trying to stir up more extremists. This has nothing to do with the filmmakers."