(DDM) – A fierce political and cultural row has erupted in Israel after the government announced it would withdraw funding for the country’s national film awards following the victory of a Palestinian-themed film at the prestigious Ophir Awards.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the controversy centers on The Sea, a drama about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from the occupied West Bank who dreams of reaching Tel Aviv to see the Mediterranean Sea.
The film, which won Best Film at this year’s Ophir Awards, now automatically becomes Israel’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Israel’s Culture Minister, Miki Zohar, blasted the film’s recognition, calling it a “slap in the face” to Israeli citizens and soldiers.
“There is no greater insult than the embarrassing and detached Ophir Awards ceremony,” Zohar posted on X. “Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers.”
Local media reports suggest it remains unclear whether Zohar has the legal authority to revoke government funding for the Ophir Awards, which are overseen by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television.
Despite the backlash, The Sea collected multiple honors at the ceremony, including Best Actor for 13-year-old Muhammad Gazawi, the youngest winner in the history of the Ophir Awards.
Gazawi portrays Khaled, a Palestinian child blocked by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at a checkpoint during a school trip. The boy later sneaks into Tel Aviv to fulfill his dream of touching the sea, while his undocumented father desperately searches for him.
Accepting the prize, producer Baher Agbariya said the film stood for “every child’s right to live in peace, a basic right we will not give up on.”
The Israeli Academy of Film and Television pushed back against the government’s criticism, with its chair Assaf Amir stating: “As the never-ending war in Gaza takes a terrible toll, the ability to see the ‘other’ gives small hope. In the face of attacks on Israeli cinema, the selection of The Sea is a powerful and resounding response.”
The dispute comes amid mounting global scrutiny of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Since October 2023, more than 65,000 Palestinians, nearly half of them women and children, have been killed in Israeli air and ground assaults, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel launched the war after Hamas militants staged a brutal attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
On Tuesday, a United Nations commission of inquiry accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s foreign ministry dismissed the findings as “distorted and false,” deepening tensions between Tel Aviv and international institutions.
The film’s victory has also reverberated through the global entertainment industry. Earlier this year, thousands of Hollywood professionals signed a pledge refusing to collaborate with Israeli cultural institutions, accusing them of complicity in war crimes.
The decision to honor The Sea is being hailed by some as a breakthrough moment for artistic freedom in Israel, but condemned by others as political betrayal.
For Palestinians, the recognition of a story rooted in their lived experience represents rare validation on an international stage. For Israeli conservatives, however, it symbolizes disloyalty during wartime.
The Ophir Awards controversy reflects a deeper cultural struggle inside Israel, where artists and filmmakers increasingly clash with politicians over narratives that challenge the state’s policies in the West Bank and Gaza.
As the debate intensifies, the fate of Israel’s future film industry funding remains uncertain, with many fearing that political interference could silence creative voices at a time when global attention is sharply focused on the conflict.
For now, The Sea stands as both a cinematic triumph and a flashpoint in Israel’s cultural wars, a story about a child’s longing for freedom that has reignited fierce arguments about identity, art, and the cost of conflict.
