Politics
Political scandal: Eisenkot aide backed controversial film
The directors' guild he chairs published a statement of support for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their Venice win. Likud: «delusional far left».
· Source: Kikar HaShabbat. photo as published by the outlet
Political storm erupted after it was revealed that Eliran Elia, a parliamentary advisor to Gadi Eisenkot and chairman of the Israeli Directors and Playwrights Association, was behind a statement of support from the association for the creators of the film NZA, after it won the jury prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday night.
NZA is a British documentary directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, Academy Award winners for "No Other Land". According to the plot summary, it addresses mechanisms behind the killing in Gaza during the Iron Swords war, and presents testimony from soldiers and officers claiming deliberate and systematic killing. The film's name derives from the Hebrew initials for "collateral damage".
The Directors and Playwrights Association under Elia issued a statement of support for Abraham and Szor after the win, just as it did a year and a half ago with "No Other Land". According to Kikar HaShabbat, Likud defined the two films as "films intended to defame Israel's heroic IDF soldiers, make blood libel accusations against them and portray them as war criminals".
Elia's position in Eisenkot's slate proves the slate includes not only leftist members but also extreme left and radical elements, a Likud statement said. Elia, director of "Under Question" and "The Good City", a former Or Yehuda city council member and deputy mayor, joined Eisenkot's Yeshar party as an advisor on its Knesset slate.
Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced tonight that he would work to revoke the citizenship of Abraham and Szor following the win. Abraham said in his acceptance speech at Venice that it is not easy to stand there when thinking about Israeli politicians and journalists who attack the film and reject it without watching it.
