Gantz Blasts Award-Winning Anti-Israel Film: “You Have to Be a Liar”
Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz issued a blistering condemnation of “NAZA,” an anti-Israel film that received an award at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, accusing its creators of falsely depicting Israel as intentionally killing civilians in Gaza.
The film, produced by two Israelis, presents the Gaza war from a pro-Palestinian perspective and portrays Israel and the IDF in a sharply negative and delegitimizing light.
“As a former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, I state unequivocally: IDF soldiers and commanders are among the most moral, humane and principled fighters in the world. How do I know? Because I was there. I know the IDF’s operations in Gaza in detail – before October 7, and even more so afterward,” Gantz wrote.
Gantz rejected the film’s portrayal of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, arguing that the IDF had gone to extraordinary lengths to uphold ethical standards while fighting in densely populated areas.
“You have to be a liar to portray Israel as deliberately carrying out killings in Gaza. No army in the world has fought in an urban environment while maintaining the purity of arms as the IDF has.”
Gantz also recalled a message he said he delivered to senior American military officials shortly after the October 7 massacre, stressing that Israel’s military campaign was never intended as an act of vengeance.
“In the first days of the war, for example, I told a delegation of American generals that there was no action we could take in Gaza that would make up for the atrocities committed against us on October 7. Therefore, revenge was never the purpose of the fighting. We are fighting to protect Israel’s citizens and to ensure security for the decades to come.”
Gantz’s criticism came after Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar denounced the filmmakers in even stronger terms, saying he would seek to have their Israeli citizenship revoked “for betraying the state.”
“The victory of the despicable film NAZA at the Venice Film Festival is appalling,” Zohar said. “The creators’ seething self-hatred, which drives them to harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world, is unfathomable and constitutes a betrayal of the state. This is precisely why I led the important cinema reform – so that Israeli citizens will no longer pay out of their own pockets for attacks on IDF soldiers and the State of Israel. I will work to revoke the citizenship of these contemptible filmmakers.”
{Matzav.com}
