Israel’s culture minister, Miki Zohar, has announced that government funding for the Ophir Awards, the country’s national film honours, will be withdrawn from 2026, following the selection of The Sea, a drama centred on a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, as best feature film.
In a statement posted on X and translated by Israeli media, Zohar described the ceremony as “embarrassing and detached”, adding: “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.”
The Sea, written and directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollak, will now represent Israel in the best international film category at the Oscars. The film follows Khaled, a Palestinian boy who attempts to reach Tel Aviv’s beach for the first time but is turned away at the border, prompting a dangerous journey to enter the country. Thirteen-year-old Muhammad Gazawi won best actor for his portrayal of Khaled, while Khalifa Natour took best supporting actor.
The awards are decided by members of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. It remains unclear whether Zohar has the authority to halt funding; the Association for Civil Rights in Israel is examining the legality of such a move.
Zohar has previously clashed with the film industry. In February, he introduced legislation to direct state funding towards commercially successful productions and criticised the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land as “sabotage against the state of Israel”.
At the Ophir ceremony, The Sea’s Palestinian producer, Baher Agbariya, accepted the award with a call for “equality and tolerance”, stating: “This film was born from love for humanity and cinema, and its message is one – the right of every child to live and dream in peace, without siege, without fear, and without war.” Many attendees wore T-shirts bearing slogans such as “a child is a child” and “end the war” in protest against the conflict in Gaza.
Veteran director Uri Barbash, honoured with a lifetime achievement award, also urged an end to the war, calling for the return of kidnapped individuals and the replacement of what he described as a “divide and rule” regime.
Assaf Amir, chair of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, defended the choice of The Sea, saying it was “a powerful and resounding response” to both government criticism and international calls to boycott Israeli cinema.
The dispute comes amid a pledge by more than 3,000 international film industry figures, including Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Riz Ahmed and Emma Stone, to boycott Israeli film institutions they accuse of complicity in “genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians.
Israeli industry representatives condemned the boycott. Nadav Ben Simon, head of the Israeli screenwriters’ guild, said such actions “harm precisely those who are committed to fostering dialogue and building bridges between peoples”.
Hollywood studio Paramount also criticised the boycott, stating: “Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace.”
