Pro-Israel Protesters Counter "NAZA" Film Premiere With Oct. 7 Footage

A North American premiere screening of the documentary "NAZA" at New York's Lincoln Center on Saturday, part of the New York Film Festival, sparked a divided response. Dozens of pro-Israel demonstrators gathered to protest the film, which they claim ignores the October 7 Hamas attack. Conversely, a small group of activists showed up to support the filmmakers.

Outside the venue, pro-Israel organizers used vehicles with LED screens to display images of hostages taken during the Hamas attack and held in Gaza, accompanied by the message, "Context is not censorship. It's responsibility." Protesters, holding Israeli and American flags and signs calling to "know the truth," were joined by two survivors of the Nova music festival massacre, Rom El-Hai and Shalev Bitton, and Younis Al-Qarnawi, an Israeli Bedouin who aided victims on October 7.

The documentary, whose title is a Hebrew acronym for "collateral damage," alleges that the Israeli military used artificial intelligence to target Gaza and tolerated a high number of civilian casualties from the conflict's outset. The Israeli military has formally denied the film's central accusations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has supported a bill to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the film's directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

Supporters of the Israeli government had previously protested outside Szor's parents' home, calling them "traitors." At the New York rally, Rom El-Hai echoed this sentiment, labeling the directors "traitors" and asserting that "liars" like them have existed in Jewish communities since biblical times. In an interview, El-Hai stated that Abraham and Szor "should be punished" and cannot continue "living their lives in Israel as if nothing happened," adding that "people need to understand there is a price to pay for what they do."

The Israeli-American Council, which initiated the protest, offered a more measured stance. Its community relations head, Noa Peri-Jensch, stated, "We mourn every innocent life lost in this war, Israeli or Palestinian. But compassion for Palestinian civilians does not require us to erase October 7, ignore Hamas, or accept a narrative without questioning it." She clarified that she does not seek to cancel screenings but advocates for them to include context, such as panel discussions with October 7 survivors.

Nearby, about a dozen activists from the left-wing group Israelis for Peace demonstrated in solidarity with the directors, holding signs expressing support "for the countless victims in Gaza and for Rachel and Yuval for daring to tell the truth to power." Organizer Roni Tamari called the Israeli reaction "disproportionate" and deemed the public display of October 7 victim images "very disrespectful."

Despite the controversy, both weekend screenings sold out almost immediately, according to John Kwiatkowski, director of advertising and communications for Film at Lincoln Center.