Israeli culture minister cuts Ophir funds over ‘pro-Palestinian’ film

Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar announced through his office on Wednesday that the government would cease funding the Ophir Awards after “the disgraceful win of the pro-Palestinian film ‘The Sea.’”

Directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollak, the 2025 film about a Palestinian boy from Judea and Samaria and his attempts to reach the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv nabbed Best Picture at Israel’s version of the Oscars, the 35th edition of which took place at a ceremony in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The star of the drama, Muhammad Gazawi, 13, who plays the boy, won the Best Actor Ophir Award, becoming the youngest actor to win the award. Khalifa Natour won the Ophir Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role.

Having won the top prize, the film is automatically Israel’s official submission for a Best International Feature Oscar nomination at the 98th Academy Awards airing March 2026 from Los Angeles. The shortlist will be announced in December. The Jewish state has been nominated in the category 10 times without a win.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichi Chikli called it a “very important decision” to stop government funding of the Ophir Awards in an X post Wednesday.

“It is inconceivable that after everything the State of Israel has gone through since October 7th and in the midst of a difficult war, the taxpayer will be required to take part in funding Palestinian propaganda,” Chikli continued. “I am sorry for the film’s producers who failed to find even one touching story from the [Gaza] envelope communities to tell our story.”