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Bearing Witness (2023 film)

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Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre
Produced byIDF Spokesperson's Unit
Edited byMattan Harel-Fisch[1]
Release date
  • 2023 (2023) (private screenings only)
Running time
47 minutes
CountryIsrael

Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre[2] (also unofficially called סרט הזוועות, lit. 'the atrocity film' or 'the film of horrors' in Hebrew) is a compilation by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit of raw footage from the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The film includes footage captured from body cameras worn by Hamas militants on 7 October, and contains scenes of extreme violence recorded during and after the incursion.[3]

Israeli officials have held screenings of the film for national and international journalists, foreign diplomats, and Hollywood executives to garner support[4][5] and to deflect criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.[6][7] The film has generated controversy, with some criticizing plans to publicly release the footage over concerns it would be psychologically harmful.[7]

Background

Main article: 2023 Hamas attack on Israel

A series of coordinated attacks, conducted by the Palestinian Islamist militant group[a] Hamas, from the Gaza Strip onto bordering areas in Israel, commenced on Saturday 7 October 2023, initiating the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups named the attacks "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood".[8] while they are referred to in Israel as "Black Saturday" (Hebrew: השבת השחורה)[9] and the "Simchat Torah Massacre" (Hebrew: הטבח בשמחת תורה).[10]

The attacks began in the early morning with a rocket barrage of at least 3,000 rockets launched against Israel and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into its territory.[11][12] Palestinian militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, targeting civilians for killing in neighboring Israeli communities and attacking military bases. In a single day, about 796 Israeli civilians and 379 Israeli soldiers and police were killed in nearby towns, kibbutzim, military bases and at a music festival near Re'im.[13][14] Approximately 200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, of which the number of kidnapped children is estimated to be 30.[15][16][17]

At least 44 nations have condemned Hamas, labelling the attacks as terrorism.[3][18][19] The day was described by media outlets and politicians as the bloodiest in Israel's history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust.[20][21]

Contents

CCTV footage of Hamas members killing and attacking people in Mefalsim on 7 October. Many images and videos of the attack were spread on social networks which are similar to those in "Bearing Witness".

The 47-minute video was produced by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit from footage retrieved partly from the body cameras of Hamas militants who carried out the 7 October attacks on Israel.[7][22] The video shows images of the attack, including scenes of murder, and mutilation of the bodies of Israeli civilians and some foreign workers. The footage contains graphic content such as burned bodies, including a burnt baby, civilians shot in homes, cars and public spaces, the beheading of a body, bodies thrown in dumpsters, soldiers killed at military bases, and female hostages being pulled by the hair while being kidnapped.[6] Other footage was taken on mobile phones by civilians as they tried to escape, and by first responders after the attack.[6]

Some militants wore fatigues to resemble Israeli army uniforms or were dressed like police. Militants carried radios and zip ties to subdue and transport captives.[6]

The militants, according to the footage, moved through towns for hours without security forces present. In footage taken by civilians, the attackers are seen suddenly emerging at a music festival, sending panicked revelers fleeing across fields amidst cries and moans of the injured. At one military base, militants killed desk staff before seizing their assault rifles.[6]

In one segment, security camera footage shows Hamas militants killing a man using a grenade. Following this act, the militants are seen retrieving beverages from a refrigerator while the man's children are screaming and crying.[23]

In another scene, young female soldiers are seen huddled as a militant entered and began firing. The assailants are seen stopping vehicles to drag out and execute occupants, and stealing cell phones and belongings from the dead and dying. Civilians reportedly in shock were filmed being pulled by their hair into militant trucks bound for Gaza.[6]

The militants also reportedly videotaped themselves pulling a dead soldier's body from a car which young men stomped on. A young woman was filmed being hauled from a car trunk and driven off while surrounded by a crowd.[6]

Screenings

Israeli officials held private screenings of the graphic footage for influental audiences, requiring agreements to not publish or share any footage from the film and prohibiting recording devices. After the film was shown to members of the Knesset in Israel, the content deeply disturbed some attendees.[7][24] Screenings have been held for Israeli Knesset members as well as foreign journalists and diplomats in Israel and at Israeli consulates worldwide.[25]

Screenings for Hollywood figures, was also arranged by Israeli-American filmmaker Guy Nattiv and Israeli actress Gal Gadot, taking place in Los Angeles and New York.[22]

Forty members of the U.S. Senate, from both political parties, attended a screening of the film in the U.S. Capitol on 29 November 2023. As they exited, most attendees, who were visibly affected by what they saw, said nothing to reporters outside.[26]

Almost 200 people, including Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, attended a screening of the film at Harvard University on 4 December. The screening, organized by Harvard Chabad rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, was the first screening at a university campus.[27][28]

After facing controversy stemming from the 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corporation Chairman Mark Gorenberg and 40 others attended a 19 December screening hosted by the Chabad House of MIT. According to Kornbluth, she faced pressure from some faculty and members of the school administration to cancel the screening. Kornbluth was to-date the highest-ranking official in American academia to attend a screening.[29]

On 17 May 2024, a private screening was to be held by sales agent WestEnd Films for a small group of Hollywood figures attending the Cannes Film Festival. The invitation to the screening featured a warning about the graphic footage and stated that participants would receive the location of the screening only a few days prior for security reasons. However, an hour before the screening at the venue (later revealed to be the Exclusive Hotel Belle Plage), attendees were informed that the screening had been called off. The co-founders of WestEnd Films stated this was done after receiving an order from the Israel Defence Forces, citing a security threat, although they were not given additional details about it.[30]

Controversy

Within Israel, there was debate around publicly releasing the graphic footage. Proponents, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, argued the brutal images would rally international backing for Israel's cause by offering incontrovertible evidence of Hamas' atrocities. They contend it is vital for the world to witness these horrific crimes firsthand. However, opponents such as mental health experts raised concerns about further traumatizing a population still reeling from the attacks and warned the film's impact would quickly fade from the news cycle.[7]

Los Angeles screenings were protected by local police.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan, Paraguay, the United Kingdom, and the United States
  1. ^ Zilber, Neri (13 November 2023). "'Video of horrors' compiler on a mission to tell Israel's story". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. ^ Harpaz, Beth (7 November 2023). "Video of Hamas atrocities being shown to Jewish organizations and Hollywood celebs". The Forward. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b Waldo, Cleary; Epstein, Gabriel; Hilbush, Sydney (11 October 2023). "International Reactions to the Hamas Attack on Israel". The Washington Institute. PolicyWatch 3793. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Blinken recounts graphic video of Israeli dad, sons targeted at kibbutz". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ Davison, John; Pamuk, Humeyra; Siebold, Sabine; Pamuk, Humeyra (13 October 2023). "Israel releases images of slain children to rally support". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Frankel, Julia (17 October 2023). "Israeli video compilation shows the savagery and ease of Hamas' attack". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Ghert-Zand, Renee (7 November 2023). "Mental health professionals implore Netanyahu not to show atrocities film to public". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  8. ^ From the United Nations:
  9. ^ Waghorn, Dominic (23 October 2023). "This is a dangerous moment in Israel-Hamas war – and the rest of the world is holding its breath". Sky News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  10. ^ Herzl, Tova (20 October 2023). "אל תשתמשו במילה "שואה" בקשר לטבח". Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  11. ^ Kubovich, Yaniv (17 October 2023). "The First Hours of the Israel-Hamas War: What Actually Took Place?". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Around 1,000 dead in Israel-Hamas war, as Lebanon's Hezbollah also launches strikes". South China Morning Post. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Témoignage d'un survivant du festival Supernova où 270 personnes ont été tuées par le Hamas" [Testimony of a survivor of the Supernova festival where 270 people were killed by Hamas]. euronews (in French). 12 October 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  14. ^ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "New Tally Puts Oct 7 Attack Death Toll In Israel At 1,189". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  15. ^ Yonah, Jeremy (19 October 2023). "IDF working on rescue ops for over 200 Israeli hostages in Gaza". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  16. ^ McKernan, Bethan (7 October 2023). "Hamas launches surprise attack on Israel as Palestinian gunmen reported in south". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Video appears to show Hamas taking Israeli civilian hostage". NBC News. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  18. ^ Michaelson, Ruth (7 October 2023). "Condemnation and calls for restraint after Hamas attack on Israel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023. International leaders condemned an unprecedented incursion by Palestinian militants into southern Israel, while governments across the Middle East called for restraint after an attack that shook the Israeli security establishment. [...] The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said his organisation would send support to Israel. 'Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism,' he said.
  19. ^ "World reaction to surprise attack by Palestinian Hamas on Israel". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Hamas's attack was the bloodiest in Israel's history". The Economist. 12 October 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023. The most searing historical comparison predates Israel's founding. Not all of Hamas's victims were Israeli, and not all of the Israeli dead were Jewish. But under reasonable assumptions about the ethnic make-up of those killed in this and previous attacks, the last time before October 7th that this many Jews were murdered on a single day was during the Holocaust.
  21. ^ "Hamas attack 'deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust', says Biden, as Israeli jets pound Gaza". The Guardian. 12 October 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  22. ^ a b Ghermezian, Shiryn (6 November 2023). "Israelis Gal Gadot, Guy Nattiv to Host Hollywood Screening of Uncensored Footage of Hamas Massacre". The Algemeiner. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023.
  23. ^ Alfaro, Mariana; Hauslohner, Abigail (14 November 2023). "House members emotional after seeing footage of Oct. 7 attack on Israel". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  24. ^ "After seeing Israel's gory oct. 7 Hamas attack footage, I say you shouldn't — yet". variety. 16 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Film of Hamas atrocities to be screened for Hollywood executives". The Jerusalem Post. 5 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  26. ^ Kampeas, Ron. "Stark footage of Hamas's Oct. 7 atrocities leaves US senators silent and tearful". Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  27. ^ Hill, J. Sellers (6 December 2013). "Harvard Chabad Hosts Screening of Graphic Footage from Hamas' Oct. 7 Attack on Israel". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  28. ^ Deutch, Gabby (5 December 2023). "Harvard first university to screen IDF film showing Hamas brutalities of Oct. 7". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  29. ^ Edelson, Daniel (20 December 2023). "After backlash, MIT president attends screening of Hamas horror compilation". Ynet News. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  30. ^ Siegel, Tatiana; Keslassy, Elsa (21 May 2024). "Screening of Graphic Oct. 7 Hamas Attack Movie Canceled in Cannes Amid 'Serious Security Risk'". Variety. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Controversial Hamas Attack on Israel Documentary Screens in LA". Variety. 9 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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