Directors of NAZA, Yuval Abraham (left) and Rachel Szor (right)

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
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
Julie Goldman, AMPAS Documentary Branch
Mirra Bank, AMPAS
Rob Epstein, AMPAS, DGA, IDA member
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
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
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