Three Israelis have released a documentary rebutting "NAZA," the film about Israel's conduct in Gaza that won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival last month.
"NAZA: The Real Story" was made by Lt. Col. (res.) Roi Danino, Hagai Gutman and advocacy activist Ariel Averbuch, and went online last week at nazadocumentary.com. It runs about 49 minutes, carries English subtitles and is offered in 18 languages.
The film puts IDF commanders and intelligence officers on camera to describe the fighting in Gaza firsthand. It uses declassified recordings, combat footage and captured Hamas material, and it focuses on three subjects: Hamas's use of civilian areas, the limits that the hostages placed on operations, and the security risks of delivering humanitarian aid. Parts of it were filmed at night on Tel Aviv rooftops.
"This is an offensive film, not a defensive one," the creators said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The original "NAZA," directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, is built on anonymous testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel, who say civilian deaths were factored into strike decisions in Gaza. The IDF has called its allegations "distorted, misleading and disingenuous." Israel's embassy in Washington has promoted the new film, saying it is "setting the record straight."
The shared title has drawn complaints. Critics on social media accuse the makers of trying to divert people who search for the original, and one widely shared post claimed the Israeli government was behind it. The International Business Times reported that there is no public evidence of deliberate search manipulation. A Beersheba news site reported that the link was also circulated as a supposed leak of the original film.
The creators say the film has reached millions of viewers worldwide.
