Minister says he will pull funding for Israel’s Oscars after movie about Palestinian wins

Culture Minister Miki Zohar says he is pulling government funding for the Ophir Awards — Israel’s version of the Oscars — after a movie about Palestinian struggles won the top prize.

“The Sea,” written and directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollak, tells the story of a Palestinian adolescent from the West Bank attempting to reach the beach for the first time but who is stopped by Israeli troops.

In a statement released by his ministry, Zohar calls the win “disgraceful,” noting that it portrays Israeli soldiers in a negative light.

“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir Awards ceremony,” Zohar fumes in a statement sent out by his ministry. “Starting with the 2026 budget, this pathetic ceremony will no longer be funded by taxpayers’ money. Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers.”

Carmeli-Pollak was one of the several participants in the Tuesday night ceremony to wear shirts reading “a child is a child is a child,” part of a campaign calling for a halt to the fighting in Gaza.

The Ophir Prize winner almost always becomes Israel’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.

In a statement, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television says the film “reflect[s] a deep commitment to cinematic excellence, artistic freedom, and freedom of speech.”

Academy head Asaf Amir also praises the selection of “The Sea,” without mentioning Zohar directly.

“In the face of the Israeli government’s attacks on Israeli cinema and culture, and the calls from parts of the international film community to boycott us, the selection of ‘The Sea’ is a powerful and resounding response. I am proud that an Arabic-language film, born of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis, will represent Israel in the Oscar competition,” he says in comments included in the statement.