Gov't honors creators of NAZA, The True Story for challenging claims of Yuval Abraham's documentary

Tzipi Hotovely praised the film for presenting "Israel's truth and the morality of IDF soldiers" and challenging what she called "blood libels and lies" against Israel.

The creators of NAZA, The True Story, a film challenging allegations made in the controversial documentary NAZA, received certificates of appreciation from National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Tzipi Hotovely on Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office announced.

The Prime Minister's Office recognized filmmakers Ariel Orbuch, Roy Danino, and Hagai Gutman for their contributions to Israeli public diplomacy.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, NAZA, The True Story "features testimonies from soldiers, refutes the blood libels against IDF soldiers and commanders, thereby defending our soldiers and the State of Israel."

Hotovely praised the film, saying it "presents Israel's truth and the morality of IDF soldiers in the face of the blood libels and lies being spread against us around the world."

She also highlighted the film's tens of millions of views, saying it exposes Hamas's crimes and its use of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"I thank the filmmakers for their initiative, assertiveness, and creativity. You embody our remarkable civilian spirit, and I am proud to give you my support and recognition on behalf of the Directorate and the State of Israel," Hotovely said.

NAZA documentary raises allegations over IDF targeting practices in Gaza

The original NAZA documentary, created by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 10 and received the Special Jury Prize.

The documentary alleges that the Israeli military routinely incorporated projections of large numbers of civilian deaths into its targeting decisions during the war in Gaza.

NAZA takes its title from an IDF term referring to anticipated "collateral casualties" and draws on testimony from intelligence officers and soldiers involved in the war, challenging official accounts of the military's targeting practices.

IDF rejects allegations made in NAZA documentary

The IDF has strongly denied the allegations made in the documentary.

In a statement published on X/Twitter shortly after the film was screened at the festival, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit described information presented in an interview clip as “completely false.”

“The IDF has never planned, approved, or carried out a strike in Gaza in which 500 civilians or anything near that number were anticipated to be killed. Nor was any credible claim raised throughout the war suggesting that an IDF strike had caused anything near that number of fatalities,” the IDF wrote.

“The filmmakers couldn’t possibly verify this claim; there is no real supporting evidence, and yet they published it anyway. Additionally, nothing about the interviewee, not his service nor his role, can be independently checked and verified.”

Addressing the documentary's allegations concerning the military's use of artificial intelligence, the IDF said that “decisions regarding the selection and approval of strikes in the IDF are made by human personnel only, in accordance with IDF guidelines, and not by artificial intelligence.”

The competing films have brought renewed attention to allegations concerning the IDF's conduct during the war in Gaza, with the military rejecting the original documentary's claims and the creators of NAZA, The True Story seeking to challenge them through soldiers' firsthand accounts.

Corinne Baum, Reuters, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.