Israel’s Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar, threatened to revoke the Israeli citizenship of Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of NAZA, a documentary that examines the mechanisms behind the violence inflicted on the Palestinian population in Gaza.

In a social media post, Zohar described the film as “shocking” and accused its filmmakers of “betraying the state.” He also said that, as Minister of Culture, he would act to revoke their citizenship on the grounds that they had “betrayed the state.”

NAZA had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a 24-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, the longest in the festival’s history. Abraham and Szor also received the Special Jury Prize.

During his acceptance speech, Abraham criticized attacks by Israeli politicians and journalists against a film that, he noted, many of its critics had not even seen. “The denial of a crime is what allows it to persist,” he said, before emphasizing the importance of the film being seen, particularly by Israeli citizens.

The director also addressed the international responsibility surrounding the situation in Gaza and criticized the support given to Israel by European governments and the United States. “It is our country that is committing these crimes,” he said.

Zohar’s threat against the filmmakers comes after the international reception of a film that places Israel’s actions in Gaza at the center of public debate. The Culture Minister’s intervention adds a particularly serious dimension to the conflict: the use of a state institution to threaten to strip two filmmakers of their citizenship because of the content of their work and the positions they have publicly expressed regarding the policies of their own government.