Nan Goldin on the War in Gaza

Plus: The New MAGA Status Symbols

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September 18, 2026

On Wednesday, I attended a packed New York Film Festival press screening of NAZA, a vital new documentary by Oscar winners Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor that has stoked furor in the filmmakers’ native Israel. The movie features 24 Israeli intelligence officers speaking anonymously and matter-of-factly about the nation’s disregard for civilian life in Gaza; Benjamin Netanyahu wants to strip Abraham and Szor of their citizenship for making it. VF will have more on the film after its official New York premiere—but the conversation around NAZA is a natural complement to this excerpt from Benjamin Moser’s new book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History. In it, Moser joins celebrated artist Nan Goldin as she debuts a new project: a slideshow of photos from Gaza. “At the end of the film, it feels uncomfortable, indeed almost obscene, to clap,” Moser writes. The audience at NAZA would have said the same. Elsewhere, Lindsey Underwood catches up with Serena Williams, whose new watch for Audemars Piguet is a grand slam (sorry), while Wisdom Iheanyichukwu chats with Gemma Chan about her busy fall, and Aidan McLaughlin reveals the secret status symbols coveted by the MAGA elite. (Do they even know about Serena Williams’s watch?) More tomorrow!

HILLARY BUSIS FEATURES EDITOR

Nan Goldin’s Shocking Gaza Slideshow: “It’s the Holocaust on Our Phones”   By Benjamin Moser

In an exclusive excerpt from Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Benjamin Moser bears witness to Goldin’s public display of dissent while receiving an award at the Rencontres d’Arles. Read more

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ART   Patti Smith and Photographer Lynn Davis on Their Enduring Friendship With Robert Mapplethorpe   By Madison Reid   Nearly 40 years after Mapplethorpe’s death, Smith and Davis haven’t forgotten anything about their lives in New York during the 1970s and beyond. For the first time, all three artists’ works are being shown together. “Life was the art,” Davis tells Vanity Fair. “You can see the freedom in the pictures.” Read more

STYLE   An Interview With Serena Williams as She Adds a New Title to the List—Watch Designer   By Lindsey Underwood   The tennis star on juggling motherhood, getting back on the court, and finding time for it all. Read more

FASHION   Gemma Chan Knows How to Dress   By Wisdom Iheanyichukwu   The Five-Star Weekend actor chats with VF during New York Fashion Week about finding her personal style and her new film Josephine. Read more

Why this ad?

Mansions, Jets, and the Secret White House Watch: The New Status Symbols of Trump’s Washington   By Aidan McLaughlin   In a capital flush with cash, there are new emblems of power: certain watches, certain private clubs, even landing your private jet at a certain airport. Read more

Exclusive: Backstage at Emmys 2026 With Nicole Kidman, Noah Wyle, Plus Zendaya and Tom Holland Go behind the scenes of TV’s biggest night, where stars like Florence Pugh and Selena Gomez mingled between awards. Read more.

29 New TV Shows to Watch This Fall From a new Amy Poehler comedy to fresh takes on Blade Runner, East of Eden, and Harry Potter to docu-dramas about JonBenét Ramsey and Sam Altman. Read more.

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