A mass brawl ensued outside a high-profile Hollywood screening of a film showing the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists during their attack on Israel early last month.
Aerial footage captured by a local ABC affiliate shows at least two groups brawling outside the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Calif. Wednesday night following the screening of a 43-minute film of Hamas barbarity entitled Bearing Witness, which was organized by Israeli actress Gal Gadot. Police forcefully broke up the fights after arriving at the scene Wednesday night.
Another video shows pro-Palestinian protesters attacking people who were attending or supporting the screening.
National Review contacted the Los Angeles Police Department for additional details on how the mass brawl started and who was involved.
About 200 people were invited to the private showing of the graphic, uncensored film, according to the Hollywood Reporter. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, Hollywood executives, celebrities, and journalists attended the screening. The film included footage shot by Hamas members during their terror attack.
Gadot, an Israeli who formerly served in the IDF, was not in attendance herself. However, her husband Yaron Varsano and Oscar-winning director Guy Nattiv were. Nattiv said Gadot and Varsano played a big part in making the screening possible.
Eve Barlow, a journalist who saw the film, said the footage depicted the beheading of babies, burned bodies, blood-filled streets, killed kids at an Israeli music festival, and dead dogs. “Tonight I bore witness,” she posted on X. “Outside the Museum of Tolerance a violent pro-Palestine mob’s chants could be heard in the theatre. They can’t drown out the truth.”
There was a heavy security presence at the event after the location of the venue was shared online ahead of time. An FBI advance team was dispatched to the Museum of Tolerance in the days leading up to the screening, and LAPD officers were stationed inside and outside the Jewish history museum the night of.
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass (D.) condemned the violence. “We cannot allow current worldwide tension to devolve into this unacceptable violence in our city,” she posted on X. “This is a time of immense pain and distress for thousands of Angelenos. We must stand together.”