On Tue, Sep 15, 2026 at 11:51 AM +972 Magazine <[email protected]> wrote:
> View this email in your browser > <https://us.list-manage.com/15gEDB5HHSA?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=6Pr63T98oWVScCVjyEO0zoL4eNPXjXXBhKBZtg1qL6CGUfTxkDTMWrdsAv8H> > > <https://us.list-manage.com/ffg2J0X1EbD?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=Oj01Z56ZcSota5FaLNkOT3z6dNJJWYcjRee2E5bv6XeSFmxHcihLCtP-XXTn> > SUPPORT > US > <https://us.list-manage.com/Kut509pu48v?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=e-NSjc_iYUo3cbUiw_6jyL4u9kYygR3U0wnhCcTt1vI1CIjZjY4qfuahD8lw> > > September 15, 2026 > [image: Ben Reiff] > <https://us.list-manage.com/WXT7_mQFq8j?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=5XzxFQD-myOlgGRRoo6bg9bRLhr-b_JB8ohLcrM6wJeuYv-1S-gjVfA5___H> > Ben Reiff > Deputy editor > > ‘NAZA’ is a blistering indictment of Israel’s deep moral rot > > For those who’ve followed +972’s coverage of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza > closely, much of the content of the new documentary “NAZA,” whose premiere > I attended in Venice last week, will be familiar. Certainly, it exposes the > inner workings of Israel’s killing systems in greater detail than ever > before; and there is real power, too, in putting many of the revelations > we’ve published in a series of investigations by Yuval Abraham, one of the > film’s directors (together with Rachel Szor), in one place. > > But “NAZA” (a Hebrew military acronym meaning “collateral damage”) is more > than an account of how AI algorithms, panoptic surveillance, and > unrestrained strike policies enabled a level of civilian slaughter beyond > almost anything we’ve seen in modern warfare. Through anonymized interviews > with some of the soldiers responsible, the film also provides a brutal > illustration of the dehumanization of Palestinians in the Israeli psyche — > and a study in how an entire society can comply with genocide. > > People around the world have watched in horror as Israeli ground troops in > Gaza revelled in their crimes on social media: shooting indiscriminately, > burning homes, detonating residential blocks, and posing with the underwear > of displaced Palestinian women. But “NAZA” shines a spotlight on a very > different kind of Israeli soldier: the intelligence officers considered > Israel’s “best and brightest.” > > Although they tend to be secular, upper-middle-class, and see themselves > as liberal, it is these individuals — sitting behind screens inside > Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv — who are responsible for > overseeing mass killing on a scale far greater than anything the > messianic-Kahanist soldiers on the front lines could do. And what was so > disturbing for me about “NAZA” is not merely what these soldiers say they > did, but the apparent ease with which they were able to do it. > > One soldier claims there were “no Arab haters” in his team; they simply > authorized the killing of hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians > between them because they had a “mission” to complete. Another described > the whole thing as being “like a video game.” Another said he would oversee > airstrikes that he knew, through intrusive surveillance, would kill entire > families — and then go out with friends in the evening in Tel Aviv. > > The Palestinians they kill don’t seem to register with these soldiers as > human beings; as one puts it, he gave them “zero” consideration. The > message from Israel’s politicians after October 7 was that “there are no > innocents in Gaza,” and the army turned this slogan into policy. > > Another soldier in the film went further: “The feeling was that it was > really fun.” One even explained that his commander offered to bring in a > psychologist for the soldiers to speak to, in order to help them grapple > with any moral qualms, but “there was really no need.” Everyone in the > system, even these “liberal” conscripts, willingly played their part in the > mass destruction of Palestinian society in Gaza; according to the > interviewees, they did not witness a single refused order or act of > resistance. > > It is impossible, upon watching this film, not to think about the systems > of conformity that have produced such widespread genocidal compliance — the > schools, the media, the political doublespeak. Given the near-total absence > of opposition to the slaughter of Palestinians that we’ve seen within > Israel over the past three years, none of this should come as a surprise. > > But in laying bare what Israel’s most esteemed soldiers did in their own > horrifying words, “NAZA” offers a blistering indictment of just how deep > the country’s rot goes, and the scale of deprogramming required for most > Israelis to start to recognize Palestinians’ humanity. The incensed > reaction the film is already generating inside Israel, before anyone has > even seen it, only underscores this point. > > <https://us.list-manage.com/t9d21qJ0Ge6?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=X6_kY-_fV-nStZ6bDe1khrbZ8yISdByvCEZQjgeKjtMdn-vIEA-7ydzvNL1p> > [image: > facebook.png] > <https://us.list-manage.com/1Ct7wb91gXR?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=xTMqn8D3m-ZRI8KaKLtGS9JbtJPfOlkzNWQyqbaRIsWK58Q-0iNobhAMcbTq> > [image: > twitter.png] > <https://us.list-manage.com/i3kLCfYGWhb?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=gKopUnzdnHtGg5f4vuCIuXHevqicv-EhaXpBCElD73--BLwzmdvK-za-WfEt> > [image: > instagram.png] > <https://us.list-manage.com/16_55mLHxqC?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=P4mg1fNYcRZ8sI0V6JujOV1xj9ohb6PUx7EPdFhmdmhAhWM5lyiZ0K7NRlqr> > > About > <https://us.list-manage.com/FcYjh0XzdZA?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=Z54xjMSLcn_5AbA7ptDxaitDMDdjGovT-FdhN0JbwgAYgDlT-kh-U3EeiIuk> > | Privacy Policy > <https://us.list-manage.com/BquCKQKCnLe?e=dab5c3fd19&c2id=a178d82195f59067694740f8593e3b60&m=elc8PZMTrwrlnAmOI_rJic1EErKWryVZ5WL-aEEtJgm1hTgCvWmU4cOxZ6gX> > | Unsubscribe > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=f1fe821d25&t=b&e=dab5c3fd19&c=fee17ce2b8> > +972 Magazine is an independent, non-profit media initiative, supported > largely by our readers. > © 2026 +972 Magazine. 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