Israeli Minister Freezes Funding for National Film Awards After ‘Pro-Palestinian‘ Film wins Top prize
Jerusalem - Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced Wednesday he is freezing state funding for teh Ophir Awards, Israel’s equivalent of the Oscars, following the awarding of Best Fiction Film to “Hayam” (“The Sea”). Zohar described the film as “Propalestinian” and stated he would halt taxpayer funding for the ceremony,beginning with the 2026 budget.
“after the Propalestinian film ‘Hayam,’ which discredits our heroic soldiers while they are fighting to protect us, won the prize for the best film during the shameful ophir 2025 ceremony, I decided to stop funding the ceremony with the money of Israeli citizens,” Zohar said in a statement. The decision comes after “Hayam,” directed by Shaï Carmeli-Pollak, automatically became Israel’s candidate for the 2026 Academy Award for best International Feature Film.
The film centers on the journey of a 12-year-old Palestinian child from Ramallah seeking to visit the sea in Tel Aviv. It garnered five ophir Awards Tuesday evening, including Best Actor for Mohammad Ghazaoui, the youngest recipient of the prize. Several filmmakers attended the ceremony dressed in black, using the event to call for an end to the war in Gaza.
