The anti-war film "The Sea" on the 16th honored the Israeli Film Academy Award (Ophel Prize) several major awards, which will represent Israel in the competition for the Oscars, but Culture Minister Miki Zohar denounced the film "hit the face of the Israelis".

According to the Israeli Times, the film "The Sea" premiered on July 21 this year. The film tells the story of a 12-year-old Palestinian teenager participating in a campus trip and traveling to Tel Aviv for the first time to see the sea. However, in the border area, the boy's license was claimed to be void, interrupted and deported by Israeli soldiers. In order to see the sea, the teenager risked to dive into Israel alone, but soon no news. After the boy's father learned this, he dropped his job, risking to be arrested, and embarked on a tough journey.

The American Vanity Fair magazine said that the award ceremony of the Ofir Award held on the evening of 16th was also a solemn anti-war propaganda. The award ceremony caused anger at the top of the Israeli government. On the 17th, Israeli Minister of Culture Zohar denounced the activity as "embarrassing and out of touch with reality" in a statement and slandered those "soldiers who risked their lives to protect us". Zohar even said that the government will no longer allocate funds for the film award and its award ceremony from 2026.

The Israeli Film and Television Academy responded that the award-winning film was aimed at caring for humanity, the Academy president Amir said that the Israeli film and cultural industry is facing "attacks from the government", "international counterparts pressure", "The Sea" stands out is the strongest and strongest response.