LONDON: Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar intends to end funding for the country’s national film awards starting in 2026, after a film featuring the story of a Palestinian boy won the best feature film prize.
Zohar, who recently described the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” as a “sabotage” against Israel, said on Wednesday that the Ophir Awards held in Tel Aviv was a “pathetic ceremony” after “The Sea,” a film about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, won the prize.
“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir awards ceremony. Starting with the 2026 budget, this pathetic ceremony will no longer be funded by taxpayers’ money,” he said on X.
He added: “Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers.”
Israeli rights groups are investigating whether the Culture Ministry has the authority to withdraw funding from the Ophir Awards, which members of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television vote on.
