Art or Adversary? The Israeli Culture War Over Cinema and the Soul of a Nation 

In a significant cultural and political clash, Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar has vowed to defund the national film academy and its prestigious Ophir Awards—often called the “Israeli Oscars”—after a film titled “The Sea,” which follows a Palestinian boy’s journey from the West Bank to see the ocean, won the top prize and is slated to represent Israel at the Oscars.

Denouncing the ceremony as a “spit in the face” to citizens, Zohar accused the winning film of presenting a negative perspective of Israel and its soldiers and announced the creation of a new, government-sponsored “Israeli State Oscar” to honor works that reflect official national values. The Israeli Academy defended its selection process as a commitment to artistic freedom and cinematic excellence, while legal experts questioned the legality of the minister’s defunding threat, marking the latest escalation in the government’s ongoing conflict with artists over narrative, patriotism, and the role of art in society.

Art or Adversary? The Israeli Culture War Over Cinema and the Soul of a Nation 

The silver screen has long been more than just entertainment; it is a mirror held up to society, often reflecting images that are uncomfortable, challenging, and profoundly necessary. But what happens when a government doesn’t like the reflection it sees? This is the central question erupting in Israel, where a cinematic triumph has ignited a political firestorm, pitting artistic expression against national narrative and threatening the very foundations of public art funding. 

The catalyst is “The Sea” (Ha’Yam), a film by director Shai Carmeli Pollak and producer Baher Agbariya. At the 2025 Ophir Awards—Israel’s most prestigious film honors, colloquially known as the “Israeli Oscars”—the film made waves. It won Best Picture, Best Actor for its 13-year-old star Muhammad Ghazawi, Best Supporting Actor for Khalifa Natour, and several other awards. This victory traditionally earns it the right to represent Israel in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. 

“The Sea” is a poignant, human-scale story. It follows a young Palestinian boy from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on a journey to fulfill a simple, universal dream: to see the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. His road trip to Tel Aviv is a narrative vehicle that inevitably traverses the complex and fraught terrain of the Israeli-Palestinian reality—checkpoints, separation barriers, and the pervasive presence of the Israeli military. 

For the artists in the room, the win was a celebration of cinematic excellence and a powerful message. Producer Baher Agbariya stated, “This film is about every child’s right to live in peace, a basic right we will not give up on… Peace and equality are not an illusion, but a possible choice here and now.” His words, and the film’s victory, were seen by many as a call for empathy and a reflection of a segment of Israeli society yearning for a different future. 

For Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports, Miki Zohar, it was an act of betrayal. 

The Government’s Response: Defunding the Mirror 

The morning after the ceremony, the Israeli Ministry of Culture issued a blistering condemnation. It declared its intention to withdraw all state funding from the Israeli Film Academy and its Ophir Awards ceremony starting next year, labeling the event “disgraceful.” The ministry’s statement argued that the winning film “presents the Palestinian perspective and depicts IDF soldiers and the State of Israel in a negative way.” 

Minister Zohar escalated the rhetoric, framing the awards not as an artistic choice but as a hostile act. He described the ceremony as a “spit in the face of Israeli citizens,” accusing it of promoting “foreign, disconnected narratives against Israel and IDF soldiers.” He specifically took issue with the portrayal of soldiers, claiming it was “defamatory and false” while they “fight and risk their lives to protect us.” 

But Zohar didn’t stop at defunding. In a move that echoes the creation of alternative institutions in politically charged environments, he announced the establishment of the “Israeli State Oscar.” This government-sponsored alternative would explicitly honor films and creators that “reflect the nation’s values and spirit.” The subtext was clear: art that aligns with a state-approved narrative will be rewarded; art that critiques or complicates that narrative will be marginalized. 

The Deeper Conflict: Art, Nation, and Narrative 

This clash is about far more than one film or one awards ceremony. It represents a fundamental battle over the role of art in society: 

• The Purpose of Public Funding: Is government support for the arts meant to be an investment in national branding, promoting a polished, positive image at home and abroad? Or is it meant to foster a vibrant, critical, and self-reflective artistic community that grapples with a nation’s complexities, even its flaws? Zohar’s actions firmly advocate for the former, treating culture as a PR arm of the state. 

• The Monopoly on Patriotism: The minister’s statement equates criticism with disloyalty. This creates a narrow definition of patriotism where love of country is expressed solely through uncritical praise. The filmmakers and academy members would likely argue that true patriotism involves a clear-eyed examination of one’s country in the hope of making it live up to its highest ideals. 

• Whose Story Gets Told? “The Sea” is an Arabic-language film, a product of Jewish Israeli and Palestinian collaboration, telling a story from a Palestinian point of view. Its success challenges a monolithic national story. Zohar’s reaction can be seen as an attempt to reassert a dominant, state-centric narrative and silence competing perspectives that he deems inconvenient or threatening. 

A Legal and Precedented Battle 

The minister’s threat may not be as potent as it sounds. Legal experts were quick to question its legality. Oded Feller, legal adviser for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, told CNN that Zohar is “waving empty threats,” emphasizing that the ministry’s budget “does not belong to his mother” and that the minister has no legal authority to withhold funds based on his disapproval of content or professional artistic judgments. A significant legal challenge is almost certain if the ministry follows through. 

Furthermore, this is not an isolated incident. It follows a well-established pattern. Just last year, the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land”—a joint Israeli-Palestinian project about home demolitions in the West Bank—was met with similar government fury. Minister Zohar then called the international recognition “a regrettable moment for the cinematic world” and an act of “sabotage.” 

This pattern suggests a growing intolerance for any artistic expression that deviates from the government’s political line, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also reflects a global trend where populist governments increasingly view independent cultural institutions as enemies rather than assets. 

The Academy’s Defense: A Commitment to Artistic Freedom 

In the face of this onslaught, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television stood its ground. Without directly engaging in political mudslinging, it defended the integrity of its process. The awards, it stated, are “conducted by academy members, creators, filmmakers, and cultural figures, who choose the best of Israeli cinema with a commitment to cinematic excellence, artistic freedom, and freedom of expression.” 

Academy chairman Assaf Amir offered a powerful counter-narrative to the minister’s. He expressed pride that “an Arabic-language film, the fruit of cooperation between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, is representing Israel.” He reframed the film not as an attack, but as a testament to Israeli cinema’s relevance and empathy, calling it “a sensitive and empathetic film about human beings in general.” 

The International Context and the Soul of a Nation 

This controversy does not exist in a vacuum. The war in Gaza cast a long shadow over the recent Emmy Awards, where calls for a ceasefire were made from the stage. Furthermore, over 1,000 international actors and directors have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions, citing Israel’s policies. For signatories like British screenwriter David Farr (“The Night Manager”), it’s personal; as a descendant of Holocaust survivors, he expressed rage at what he called Israel’s “apartheid system” and actions in Gaza. 

Minister Zohar’s actions, therefore, can be seen as a defiant reaction to this international pressure—a circling of the wagons. However, by attacking his own country’s artists, he risks validating the very critics he hopes to silence. He demonstrates that the space for critical discourse within Israel is shrinking, a fact that international cultural boycotts often cite as justification. 

Conclusion: More Than a Funding Dispute 

The defunding threat against the Ophir Awards is more than a budgetary squabble. It is a symptom of a deeper illness: the inability to separate art from state propaganda. The great strength of Israeli cinema on the world stage has historically been its fearless introspection, its willingness to explore the moral and social ambiguities of life in a conflict zone. Films like “Waltz with Bashir,” “Foxtrot,” and “Bethlehem” have earned international acclaim precisely because they dared to look inward. 

By attempting to punish this tradition, the culture minister isn’t just cutting a budget; he is attempting to surgically remove the conscience of a nation’s art. He is trading a vibrant, critical, and internationally respected cinema for a sanitized, state-approved version—a “Israeli State Oscar” that may reflect “the nation’s values and spirit” as defined by one politician, but will likely lack the artistic truth that resonates with a global audience. 

The battle over “The Sea” is a battle for the soul of Israeli culture. It asks whether Israel’s artistic landscape will be a rich tapestry of diverse, challenging, and authentic voices, or a monochrome poster designed by a government ministry. The world is watching, not just to see who gets funding, but to see what story a nation chooses to tell about itself.