It is a curious thing to witness: the exposure of the ugly underbelly of Israel and Zionism. ‘NAZA’ – the Israeli army’s acronym for “collateral damage” – is the new film by ‘No Other Land’ Israeli co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor that has caused an uproar in Israel. Government ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have called for the directors’ citizenship to be revoked. Israeli social media is awash with accusations of treason and death threats against them and their families, and aggressive crowds have gathered outside the home of Szor’s parents in Israel.
If a livestreamed genocide was not enough to convince the world of Israel’s ethno-nationalist tendencies, then such a vicious response to a film about how that genocide was carried out should be the death knell for any fantasies of Israeli liberal democracy.
There is a connection between the attacks on Israeli dissidents and the growing animus within their own communities towards diaspora Jews who are critical of Israel. We have been sent a less violent but no less clear message by our own communal leaders: British Jews who step out of line on Israel are not only beyond the pale, but are motivated by a secret hatred of Jews. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that has not stopped the doxing, personal attacks and ostracisation.