Israeli, Jewish protesters rally against NYC 'NAZA' screening, display October 7 massacre footage

Dozens of Israelis and Jewish Americans from the New York area gathered for a protest rally overnight on Sunday in front of the Lincoln Center. The event was organized by the Israeli-American Council (IAC) and took place outside the venue where the controversial film NAZA was being screened. The protest featured LED screens displaying excerpts from the documentary, "October 7: Bearing Witness to the Massacre," which includes footage from the Hamas-led attack on October 7.

This footage, along with contradictory material and questions about the film's sources and methodology, aimed to counter the claims made by NAZA.

The IAC formed a protest outside the New York Film Festival premiere of "NAZA," stating that the documentary is an "anti-Israel" film that makes serious allegations about the IDF's conduct in Gaza while ignoring important findings. The organization emphasized that films have editors, while history does not, and they would not allow the massacre that sparked the war to be erased from history.

Participants in the rally included members of the Israeli-American and Jewish communities from New York and New Jersey, carrying protest signs and wearing promotional shirts. Notable attendees included Nova festival survivors Rom El-Hai and Shelev Biton, as well as Younes Al-Garnaoui, an Israeli-Bedouin who saved numerous people during the October 7 attack.

Consul General of Israel in New York, Ofir Akunis, condemned the filmmakers as "shameful individuals" and vowed that the IDF would not remain silent in the face of lies and blood libels. The IDF had previously responded to claims made in the film, stating that they never planned, approved, or carried out a strike resulting in the deaths of 500 civilians.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit highlighted that no credible claim has been made that an IDF strike caused such a high number of fatalities and that there is no supporting evidence for such assertions.