Helena Lindblad: Both parodic and horrible when Israel responds to "Naza" with a clever counter-documentary

The violent political reactions in Israel against the Gaza war-critical documentary "Naza" are taking new dramatic and spectacular forms.

After repeated attacks on the directing duo Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who, among other things, are threatened with revoked passports, the Israeli government, via some of its embassies, has devoted itself to marketing the lightning-quickly produced and clever counter-film "Naza. The real story" - apparently intended to question the original film's testimony from anonymous Israeli officers about the killing of civilians in Gaza.

The new film is, according to the British The Guardian (which co-produced "Naza"), made by, among others, Ariel Averbuch, lawyer and IDF major. He describes it as "an offensive move". Averbuch has strangely enough, or perhaps just for lack of imagination, chosen to AI-copy the imagery and tone of "Naza". Here, too, voices are heard (only backs are seen) on roof terraces in Tel Aviv, but the focus is on what is called "the most moral army in the world" and on how Hamas hides behind human civilian shields. The film is also on a site with a name that easily tricks visitors into thinking it is about the original film.

That the Netanyahu government answers and deals with "Naza" critics is of course legitimate and worthy of democracy, but it is a bit difficult not to see these Israeli sorceries as a "Dips" episode or a PR offensive from the leader of North Korea. But considering how dark the story is, how the safety and lives of the "Naza" directors are threatened, and how the Prime Minister goes out on X and demands that the anonymous witnesses be revealed, it's easy to hold back laughter.