On the 2nd day of Passover, on a Sunday afternoon in Toronto, I ventured into my local theatre to watch the documentary October 8th.
I was fully aware that Pro pro-Palestinians could target this film, but I chose Passover because there wouldn't be a packed theatre. I was alone in the theatre until about 3 others walked in to see the film.
I had a bit of a clue of what the film was going to be about but I learned a lot of things. The film was produced by Will and Grace actress Debra Messing, who also appears in the film.
The film is very powerful and shows the follow up response to what happened after the massacre in Israel on October 7th, 2023 attack by Hamas.
The film has interviews with University students who were bullied in person and online. It has a survivor showing their home in a kibbutz in Israel and telling her story on how she survived.
It shows how social media and mainstream media has influenced the hate among people for and against Israel.
It is told from mainly a Jewish woman's perspective and mostly speaks to what has happened in America with the protests, campus encampments, and online hate speech.
They explain the reason for the attack and with stats and graphics to back up the fact that only 2.5 % of Jewish American people live in America and the surrounding countries to Israel have had declining populations of Jewish residents.
I am sad to see that the film is in limited release and hasn't been getting much attention in Canada. Knowing the fact that hate crimes are the highest for Jewish people in Toronto and probably Canada these days.
What I don't understand is how people can say F*@K Israel and all of it's people when most people in Israel are just afraid for their life and don't want any harm to come to anyone else.
What I also don't understand is why nobody has learned from the Holocaust experience.
People are being radicalized to generate hate and a divide among religions.
This is creating more generational trauma and anxiety that will never go away.
Close to my area there is a street corner that has Pro-Palestinians holding up flags and signs and across the street are Jewish supporters doing the same thing. How do they expect that will change the fighting in other countries nowhere near here?
I think they should put down the signs and flags and get together in a warehouse and put relief packages together for the innocent survivors who have to rebuild their destroyed lives.
Donate to causes that help. B Strong, World Central Kitchen, Global Medic, and more.
Drop the flags and pick up shovels and go and help rebuild the destroyed homes if you have the capacity.
Have meetings with people from both sides and find common ground and maybe write letters to people that have the power to make a difference but don't be delusional to think our Prime Minister can stop these wars because it's obvious if you can sit in your Military protected home and give orders for other people to kill the other side that they aren't going to care what people standing on the street waving flags are saying or Prime Ministers telling them to stop.
It's about power, money and religion. It's not about territory because they are destroying the territory and making everything in it's path toxic. Only the billionaires that want to swoop in and clear everyone out so they can build luxury resorts will win in this war if they are allowed to bulldoze a whole country.
Come together, create peace and get creative and build something instead of destroying everything.
Love wins, war loses.
World Premiere – Hot Docs 2025 - International Spectrum Competition
| Sat, May 3 at 1:45 PM
TIFF Bell Lightbox- 350 King St. West, Toronto, ON
