Israel Backs a Look-Alike Film to Counter the NAZA Documentary

Israel is promoting an online counter-film that copies the style of NAZA, the documentary about Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza.

NAZA was directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian. It is in cinemas and is due to screen in more than 50 countries. The film centers on 24 interviews with Israeli military insiders. They describe an AI-assisted surveillance system, computer tools that helped process large amounts of tracking data during the Gaza war. The film alleges that large numbers of civilian deaths were routinely built into Israeli targeting decisions in Gaza The Guardian.

The response from Israel has been denunciation at the highest level. The government denounced the film and said it plans to strip Abraham and Szor of their citizenship, accusing them of treason. On 14 September 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called NAZA 'shocking incitement' Reuters. Reuters separately reported that Netanyahu stepped up threats against the directors, who are Israeli journalists and Oscar-winning directors. Culture Minister Miki Zohar accused Abraham and Szor of 'treason against the state'.

Alongside that legal and public pressure, Israeli embassies have promoted a link to an online film called NAZA: The Real Story. On 8 October 2026, the Guardian described it as a quickly made online film that echoes the style of its documentary about mass killings of Gaza civilians.

Think of it as a mirror image with the opposite message. NAZA: The Real Story is hosted at nazadocumentary.com and mimics the original's style, including anonymised interviews shot on rooftops in Tel Aviv. It was made by Ariel Averbuch, an Israeli attorney and army reservist. Averbuch called the project an "offensive move" meant to shift focus away from allegations about the military's killing of civilians. The short film states that Israel has the "most moral army in the world".

The credits list Roi Danino as a film-maker. Danino is a candidate for the rightwing Israel First party. The domain was registered on 16 September, six days after NAZA premiered at the Venice international film festival, where NAZA won the special jury prize.

The website first presented itself as a promotional page for NAZA. It named Abraham and Szor as directors and listed festivals where the documentary was due to screen. That framing has since changed to open counter-advocacy.

Part of the distribution has run through official channels. On 18 September 2026, the Embassy of Israel in Australia published a newsletter with a section titled "“NAZA”: A FILM BUILT ON FALSEHOODS AND DISTORTIONS OF THE TRUTH" Embassy of Israel in Australia.

The viewing numbers do not line up. The rival website's counter says the short film has been watched more than 42 million times, while its official YouTube page shows just 30,000 views. Technical analysis suggested the 42 million figure could have come from requests to the website, by humans or bots, rather than people actually watching the video. When asked about the source of the 42 million claim, Averbuch said he did not know and referred questions to his tech team.

The broader context here is a contest over testimony and legitimacy that now spans cinemas, embassies and web domains. NAZA relies on accounts from inside the military establishment. The counter-project uses the same visual grammar, anonymous rooftop interviews and documentary form, but features serving personnel and reservists defending military conduct. For diplomats and institutions planning screenings in the more than 50 countries where NAZA is slated, the pairing creates parallel claims to authenticity.

Looking at the weeks ahead, three tracks bear watching. The first is legal. A proposal to strip citizenship from journalists over a film would face tests under domestic law and international scrutiny. The second is diplomatic. Use of embassies to circulate a mimic title and a domain first dressed as the original film's page raises questions about state communication practice. The third is evidentiary. NAZA's core allegation concerns targeting rules and civilian harm, while the counter-film asserts exceptional restraint. Those positions cannot be reconciled by production style or view counters. They point back to records, orders and after-action review.