NAZA

Some films are important regardless of their cinematic quality. They have an urgency and a relevance that go beyond aesthetic consideration. This new film from Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the filmmakers behind Palestinian-Israeli Oscar-winner No Other Land, is one of those. And it’s one of the year’s best.

The film consists of the testimony of 24 anonymous ex-members of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). The interviews take place in the dark on rooftops in Tel Aviv, overlooking apartment buildings and streets where the night-time traffic passes. A plane will fly overhead or an alarm, warning of an imminent missile attack, but for the rest of the time, Abraham diligently questions his subjects and listens to what they have to say. 

These are the men and women who operate the machinery of the Israeli war machine that was unleashed on Gaza and in the Occupied Territories following the atrocious attacks of October 7, 2023. They are anonymous shapes in the dark with quiet reasonable voices. They speak of their initial rage and determination to exact revenge for the Hamas attacks. The ‘Nazas’ are the collateral damage, the innocent men, women and children who have no connection to Hamas or terrorist organisations. 

The rules of engagement allow for the killing of 20 Naza for one Hamas suspect, we are told. Soon that limit is done away with. One of the men designed an algorithm for AI – called ‘Lavender’ – to detect Hamas operatives via their phones. Another has a program to detect words such as ‘daddy’ and ‘home’ on the hacked phone of a 12-year-old so that the bombs can be dropped. The operatives describe listening in via the microphones of the hacked phones to the screams that follow the bombing. From the drones, they watch dogs eat the bodies. 

Meanwhile, the cameras capture ordinary Israelis enjoying their evenings; their big screens TVs and evening meals, watching the wartime news reports or practicing yoga. The headquarters of the IDF where many of the operatives work is in downtown Tel Aviv. The soldiers describe themselves as leftish, metropolitan, part of the elite: what we might think of as Guardian readers in the UK. Along with Jim Wilson and Jonathan Glazer, The Guardian produced the film. It’s based on years of investigative journalism from Israeli media outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call.  

As a work of journalism, it is inarguable

The scale of the violence is apocalyptic. Entire buildings are wiped off the map; then entire neighbourhoods. This is linked to the creation of Tel Aviv, which according to tradition was ‘built from the sand’ but was actually built on destroyed villages and communities. Some of the participants are asked if what they were doing constituted genocide. They reply ‘yes’ without hesitation. Some talk about the destruction as insanely fun. Another tells a story about his unit commander talking about bringing in psychologists to deal with their trauma, but in the end it wasn’t needed. One talks about visiting Poland as a schoolchild and wondering at how evil the Nazis were and how they could live with themselves. ‘I still think the Nazis are evil, so what does that make me?’

NAZA puts together a restrained, intelligent, articulate, precise and utterly damning case against Israel’s actions in Gaza and their ongoing actions through the region. As a work of cinema, it is exemplary. As a work of journalism, it is inarguable. As a document, it is an indictment. 

Naza premiered at the Venice Film Festival.