Transcript [00:00] Israeli politicians are fighting over [00:02] just about everything. But there's one [00:03] thing that they all agree on. The Naza [00:05] film just isn't true. Naza is a [00:07] documentary made by Israeli filmmakers [00:09] using testimonies from Israeli soldiers [00:12] about the use of AI targeting systems in [00:14] Israel's war on Gaza. Seen as exposing [00:16] hard truths about the war. The film [00:18] earned worldwide praise. But in Israel, [00:20] its directors have been accused of [00:22] smearing the army and betraying [music] [00:23] their country. And it's the perfect [00:25] issue that every politician can use to [00:27] drum up support ahead of elections. [00:29] Prime Minister [music] Benjamin [00:30] Netanyahu said that he would introduce [00:32] laws allowing him to strip citizenship [00:34] [music] from people who smear Israeli [00:36] soldiers. But for some, that doesn't go [00:37] far enough. Crowds have protested [00:39] outside the homes of the filmmakers [00:41] families, chanting to expel and even [00:43] execute them for being traitors. Nearly [00:46] all of Israel's opposition [music] [00:47] leaders condemn Naza. But this isn't [00:49] just about one documentary. It's about a [00:51] society shifting further and further to [00:53] the right. Aside from Ya [music] Golan's [00:55] Democrats, nearly every major Israeli [00:57] party ranges from center right to [00:59] extreme right. And a recent poll showed [01:01] that [music] just three far-right [01:02] parties, Ofer Winter's Amha Israel, the [01:05] religious Zionism Zahoot block, and [01:06] Itamar Bengavir's Otsma Hudit could win [01:09] [music] 22 seats in the elections, more [01:11] than the entire Lud party. And while the [01:13] opposition are a diverse group speaking [01:15] vaguely about unity and normaly, the far [01:17] right is offering a concrete plan. [01:19] Annexation of [music] territory, [01:20] expulsion of Palestinians, and a fully [01:22] religious state. But it's not all [01:23] because of the far right. Over 70% of [01:26] Jewish Israelis don't [music] want Arab [01:27] parties to join the government. But they [01:29] worry that opposition leader Gadi [01:31] Eisenot will [music] include them to [01:32] reach a majority. Those fears were [01:34] heightened by reports that Eisenkot told [01:36] Bedwin leaders he would bring the Arab [01:37] Ram party into his [music] coalition. [01:39] Eisenhot strongly denied it afterward, [01:41] but his fellow opposition leaders are [01:43] still wary, calling on him to clarify [01:45] who his coalition partners will be. This [01:47] is partly a fight over the Arab parties, [01:49] but it's also what always happens as [01:51] [music] elections get closer. the [01:52] competition over who will get to be [01:54] prime minister. Eisenhaw has said that [01:56] as the leader of the highest polling [01:57] party in Israel, it should be him, but [01:59] Lieberman and Bennett have refused to [02:01] agree. The pro- Netanyahu block is also [02:03] fighting over what the next government [02:04] will look like. Polls show that [02:06] Netanyahu's Likood party has lost about [02:08] 10 seats since the last elections. [02:10] Presumably, [music] centrist voters put [02:11] off by Likood's shift to the far right. [02:13] So, Likood is trying to block an [02:15] initiative helping Israel's diaspora fly [02:17] back to vote, worrying that it'll [02:18] strengthen the [music] centrist parties. [02:20] Netanyahu has also suggested that he'd [02:22] form a broad coalition government, [02:24] hinting that it may exclude Bengavir, [02:26] who has become a symbol of Israel's [02:27] farright. Ben Gave hit back, saying [02:29] [music] that Netanyahu is deliberately [02:31] forcing his party out of government. [02:33] He's doing more and more to get [02:35] attention, calling out Netanyahu in [02:36] videos online, sending supporters to [02:38] riots outside the Naza filmmakers family [02:41] homes, and even handing out gun-shaped [02:43] keychains to school students. It's easy [02:45] to dismiss this as extreme [music] [02:46] because his party leads the far right. [02:48] But at the moment, the far right leads [02:50] the debate as each leader tries to say [02:51] he'll act tougher and fight better than [02:53] his opponents. But how all of that chest [02:56] thumping translates into a genuine [02:57] [music] policy platform is yet to be [02:59] seen.
Israeli politicians briefly united last week to condemn the 'NAZA' documentary exposing the Israeli military's AI targeting system in Gaza.
Then, they went back to fighting with each other. With just over a month until the country's elections, what are they still arguing about? And has the far-right already won?
