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.
#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
Another video shows pro-Palestinian protesters attacking people who were attending or supporting the screening.
BREAKING:
Anti-Israel protesters are physically attacking Jews attending a screening of the Oct. 7th Hamas Massacre organized by actress Gal Gadot at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/jCAQGPGbI0
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 9, 2023
National Review contacted the Los Angeles Police Department for additional details on how the mass brawl started and who was involved. A news release was provided in response to the inquiry.
“On November 8, 2023, a private event was held at the 9700 block of West Pico Boulevard that attracted demonstrators with varying viewpoints. The Los Angeles Police Department was aware and deployed to monitor the event,” the statement read.
“The event concluded with no issues and demonstrators were able to express themselves. One hour after the event was over, a small group of demonstrators returned to the same location. Those demonstrators became involved in a physical fight that has been widely broadcast. Officers returned to the area and peace was restored.”
Two reports of battery are being investigated, and no suspects are in custody relating to the incident, the LAPD said.
About 200 people were invited to the private showing of the graphic, uncensored film, according to the Hollywood Reporter. An Israel Defense Forces 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.”