Hundreds of Israelis and Jewish Americans gathered in front of the Lincoln Center in NYC on Saturday to protest against the premiere of the controversial documentary NAZA at the New York Film Festival.
The Jerusalem Post reports during the rally, organized by the Israeli-American Council (IAC), LED screens mounted on small trucks displayed excerpts from October 7: Bearing Witness to the Massacre – a documentation of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel, which includes footage filmed by Hamas terrorists during the bloodthirsty assault on innocents at the Nova festival.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused those behind the NAZA production of incitement and antisemitism, while the head of the Israeli military has vowed to track down the soldiers who cooperated with the project.
“We are fighting global antisemitic incitement,” Netanyahu said when NAZA was shown recently at the Venice Film Festival. “When it comes from within us, it’s simply unbearable.”
Alongside this footage shown Saturday, the Post reports screens displayed documented material explicitly contradicting claims made in the film, as well as questions regarding its sources, methodology, and production.
Protesters waved aloft Israeli and U.S. flags as well as placards with images of the massacre in southern Israel. “Learn the facts. Know the truth,” the signs read.
At least one truck with LED screens reportedly could be seen accusing NAZA of being “propaganda dressed up as a documentary” as it circled the theater.
Among the participants were Nova festival survivors Rom El-Hai and Shelev Biton, alongside Younes Al-Garnaoui, an Israeli-Bedouin who saved dozens of people on October 7, including Nova survivors, the Post story reports.
Organizers of the protest stated their goal was to counter the narrative presented by NAZA with documentation of the events of October 7, ensuring that the massacre that sparked the war is not forgotten.
“Films have editors. History does not,” IAC stated. “Our presence here is the message: We will not allow October 7 to be erased from the story.”
The film was directed by Oscar-winning film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the British Guardian newspaper. It relies entirely on the use of anonymous sources making untested assertions.
FILE/Protesters are seen holding placards and flags during a protest against the filmmakers of NAZA outside the home of the parents of Rachel Szor, co-director of NAZA, which was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 12. Protesters criticized the film’s content, alleging testimonies featured in it contain blatant falsehoods and claiming the film contributes to antisemitism worldwide. (Sharon Eilon/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The 80-minute documentary was filmed in secret on rooftops in Tel Aviv and builds on reporting published from 2023 to 2025.
The film’s name is the Hebrew acronym for “collateral damage” and purports to show that the IDF used artificial intelligence for Gaza targeting and accepted high numbers of civilian deaths in the early stages of the war.
Along with Netanyahu, Israel’s culture minister, Miki Zohar, has already called for the film-makers’ citizenship to be revoked, and accused them of “treason against the state”.
The IDF has also dismissed the claims raised in the film.