Pro- and anti-Israel activists fighting outside the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: Screenshot

A violent brawl broke out between pro- and anti-Israel protesters on Wednesday night in Los Angeles outside the Museum of Tolerance, where a screening was being held of unedited and graphic footage showing the deadly Hamas terrorist onslaught across southern Israel last month.

The screening was of a 47-minute film titled Bearing Witness to the October 7 Massacre, which is a compilation of raw videos from the Oct. 7 massacre captured by the body cameras and cellphones of Hamas terrorists as well as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

About 150 people reportedly attended the private screening, including Hollywood executives and influencers, the Israeli-American CEO of Mattel Ynon Kreiz, and Israeli real estate developer Jaron Varsano, who is the husband of Israeli actress Gal Gadot. Gadot was not in attendance but helped raise awareness about the screening alongside Oscar-winning Israeli director Guy Nattiv, who did attend the screening.

The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League helped coordinate the event, according to the Los Angeles Times. The screening took place on the eve of the 85th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom against Jews commonly known as Kristallnacht.

Videos from the scene of the brawl in Los Angeles’ Pico-Robertson area show protesters punching one another. Others held posters that called for a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war or for the immediate return of the more than 200 hostages abducted by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct. 7. Some pro-Israel protesters wore kippahs as their counterparts wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarfs. Some demonstrators waved American and Israeli flags, and a woman used a bullhorn to chant “Bring them home,” a reference to the Israeli hostages, while a pro-Palestine demonstrator led others in chanting “Free Palestine.” Anti-Israel supporters also held signs that read, “Anti-Zionism ≠ Anti-Semitism” and “The Museum of Tolerance is showing a pro-genocide film.”

Volunteers from Shmira, a Jewish-run public safety group, were on the scene to help subdue some of the violence, as well as Los Angeles Police Department officers.

#BREAKING: Two groups clash outside L.A.’s Museum of Tolerance as the center screens a film on Hamas atrocities. LAPD officers move in as several people appear to have been punched and pepper-sprayed. Eyewitness News is live with the tense situation. Tonight at 11 from ABC7 pic.twitter.com/JJSpV6MmXi

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 9, 2023

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan introduced the film at Wednesday night’s screening. He told the audience: “This video will change the way you view the Middle East and it will change the way you view the war in Gaza. Israel, dear friends, is fighting for her future. And I’m here tonight to urge you to support Israel in this fight against sheer evil until we eradicate Hamas.”

“Hamas’ savagery … could only be carried out because Hamas, just like the Nazis and ISIS, view all Israelis; all Jews, as insects that must be exterminated,” Erdan added. “To restore security for all Israelis, Hamas — like ISIS, like Al Qaeda — must be eradicated. This is the only way to prevent another slaughter.”

Rolling Stone magazine reported that at the end of the event, IDF Lt. Col. Sheffler said the IDF is trying to “minimize civilian harm” during its military campaign against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, but that the terrorists are “hiding” behind Gazan civilians and hospitals. He explained that Bearing Witness only shows “less than 10 percent of the murders” that took place on Oct. 7 while still showcasing the “barbarity of Hamas.”

He concluded the event by introducing a new music video in which Broadway stars — including Billy Porter and Debra Messing — sing a rendition of the Les Misérables song Bring Him Home in tribute to the hostages from Israel abducted by Hamas. The song was aptly titled Bring Them Home: A Broadway Prayer.