On Yom Kippur, I was sitting in a synagogue in New York. Between the prayers and the fast, one subject dominated the conversation: NAZA and its scheduled screening at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Many people in that synagogue own homes in the Hamptons. The question was simple: How do we stop this film?
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shor at the Venice Film Festival awards ceremony
(Photo: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
My answer is simple: The first thing Israel should do is sue the filmmakers for defamation.
NAZA presents grave accusations against IDF soldiers as fact, including allegations that they deliberately killed innocent civilians. In my view, this is blatant defamation and a modern blood libel.
I know exactly how historically charged that expression is. I use it deliberately.
I believe the IDF operates according to some of the highest moral standards of any military in the world. Individuals who violate the law should be investigated and held accountable. But turning individual cases into an accusation against an entire army and presenting that accusation as fact is something entirely different.
So stop merely condemning it.
Sue.
Make NAZA a test case.
Put the filmmakers and their allegations before a court. If you accuse IDF soldiers of deliberately killing innocent civilians, stand behind your words. Present the evidence. Produce the documents. Prove it.
Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes The word ‘documentary’ does not turn an accusation into truth.
And yes, sue even if there is a risk of losing.
The lawsuit itself matters. It tells filmmakers, distributors and festivals around the world that accusations presented as facts will be challenged.
For too many years, Israel has responded only after accusations against it have already traveled around the world.
Enough.
The first response to what we believe is defamation should not be another press release.
It should be a lawsuit.