Dozens of protesters gathered outside a Los Angeles cinema on Friday as NAZA, a documentary by two Israeli filmmakers about the killing of Palestinian civilians, opened in the United States. The protest’s organisers say the film leaves out essential facts. Its directors say they made it out of a sense of obligation.
Dozens of Israeli-Americans and members of the Jewish community protested outside a screening of the documentary NAZA in North Hollywood on Friday, October 9, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The film opened in US cinemas the same day.
The Film
NAZA is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
The two have said they “made this film out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israelis to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible”.
It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
The Protest
The demonstration took place outside the Laemmle NoHo 7 cinema. Some protesters were wrapped in Israeli and American flags and carried signs reading “Learn the Facts. Know the Truth.” and “Movies Have Editors. History Does Not.”
Images documenting the October 7 attack were displayed, along with posters calling for the return of hostages.
“Our message is clear: wherever lies are told about Israel, we will show up with the truth,” said Aya Shechter, chief operating officer of the Israeli-American Council (IAC), in a statement.
Not a Call to Ban It
The IAC also organised a protest at the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival in September, where survivors of the Nova festival attack spoke.
The organisation’s co-chair, Tal Shuster, said at that rally that the aim was not to stop the film being shown.
“We’re here not because we’re saying, don’t show the film,” Shuster said. “Everyone has the freedom of speech, that’s the United States. We are saying: it’s not all the facts.”
Shuster asked cinemas that screen the film to invite a survivor to speak. “Don’t just show one side without the facts from the other side.”
The Directors
The report did not include a response from the directors to Friday’s protest.
Image: Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor with the Special Jury Prize for NAZA at the Venice Film Festival, September 2026. Photo by Ondine Goat via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
