The release of Pierre Rehov’s new documentary, Pogrom(s), marks the one-year anniversary of the barbaric terrorist attack on October 7.

Pogrom(s) starts out with the following warning:

“Sensitive persons may be disturbed by some images in this documentary. From dozens of hours of footage, we have selected the least ‘atrocious.’ However, it is difficult to bear witness to a massacre without a minimum of visual suggestion.”

The documentaries capturing October 7 do not get any easier in watching and yet, they are all essential viewing. We owe it to ourselves to bear witness to the attacks with our own eyes. This was the second of two such documentaries that I watched in a single day in mid-September. No matter how much one emotionally prepares, the preparation is never enough. Where three earlier films were under an hour long, we’ve now reached the point in which the newest October 7 documentaries are running around 90 minutes in length. Although to be fair, this is not your typical documentary on October 7. Instead, it’s an examination of the climate and ideology that led to October 7.

What Pierre Rehov does in his approach is not just show October 7 and its aftermath but points out how we got to this point. The aftermath was nothing like anyone expected, especially for the Jewish diaspora. Gone were all of the allies who we expected to show up and call for the release of the hostages. They were missing when it came to discussions of sexual violence. Instead, Jews–myself included–were being pushed out of left-wing spaces and friends cutting them off. Don’t believe me? You should see the list of colleagues that no longer talk to me, including those that directed harassment campaigns in my direction. You think you know people and you really don’t. There were no shortages of antisemitic blood libels making their way across social media and the cognitive dissonance was missing in action.

Some of what we saw in the aftermath–including university protests–were calls to globalize the intifada. Worst of all, university presidents decided to look at this violent hate speech as being a first amendment issue rather than a violation of their own university policies or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. One could certainly make an entire documentary about the university protests and congressional disappointment. Say what you will about Rep. Elise Stefanik but a number of antisemitism bills are still waiting to reach the House Floor. The current protest language is explicitly anti-West, anti-US, and antisemitic. Anyway, there are brief clips from ISGAP founding director Dr. Charles Asher Small. He testified before Congress in July 2024 but his organization’s work is worth looking into. ISGAP uncovered the connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and AMP, SJP, and JVP. As such, the organizations have direct funding ties to Hamas.

We cannot ignore the UN either. Speaking of, Joshua Muravchik’s Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel is a must-read on this subject. I first read the book when it came out in 2014 and it’s one that I frequently thought about during the past year. What we’re seeing in the UN is that gross human rights abusers get a free pass while they pass more anti-Israel resolutions than any other country. Meanwhile, UNRWA does its role in making sure that Palestinian refugees never integrate into whichever country they live. It’s weird how so many Palestinians, generations removed from 1948, are still refugees. Oh yeah, one only had to live in the region for a total of two years for refugee status. Make it make sense! But anyway, when one considers UNRWA’s role, what happened on October 7 was a ticking time bomb.

I touched on allies going missing already. The film doesn’t ignore it. It especially comes into play during the topic of women and sexual violence. There are clips from Mandana Dayani‘s speech before the UN in December 2023. I highly recommend watching the entire speech. The fact that Israelis and Jews have to speak up about the sexual violence is just infuriating. Why is it so hard to believe? There is so much existing proof but somehow it’s not good enough? #MeTooUnlessUrAJew, right?

Interestingly, Rehov does not interview any survivors of the Nova Music Festival Massacre or anyone who lived along the Gaza envelope. Obviously, we see footage of the aftermath but his approaching this from a WHY it happened. There are interviews with experts (Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Dr. Sarah-Masha Fainberg, Dr. Robert Rossin, Dr. Michael Milshtein, Nitzana Darshan-Leitner) and peace activists (Henda Ayari, Dalia Ziada). A number of people from ZAKA discuss what they saw upon visiting the massacre sites. Yossi Landau appears to have been suspended for his actions earlier this year. Landau mentions seeing a pregnant woman with a baby ripped out of her body. I do not know if this was filmed before or after ZAKA asked Landau to stop talking about what he thought he saw. Anyway, the interviews with the experts help explain why things are the way they are.

Going into October 7, I thought peace was still possible. But after October 7 and seeing some of the polls coming out of the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, it’s hard to imagine a two-state solution becoming a reality. The Palestinian Authority needs massive reforms and will need to end their pay-for-slay program. I knew about the Muslim Brotherhood having ties to the Nazis. What I did not know was how many Nazi dignitaries moved to Arab countries and converted to Islam. After moving, they worked with the Islamist movements. This does not even begin to take Soviet antisemitism and anti-Zionism into account. The Soviets were losing Middle East influence during the Cold War and according to the film, this is how today’s Palestinian movement was formed. Both of these ideologies are working together and the Holocaust denial is ingrained in their DNA.

I want to believe that peace is still possible. Believe me, I really do. But after watching Pogrom(s), I’m not so sure that it will ever be possible. All one needs to do is look at the history. The Camp David talks in 2000 led to failure and President Bill Clinton would never forgive Yasser Arafat. Before leaving office, he warned both incoming President George W. Bush and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to not trust Arafat because he would lie to them. Ehud Olmert’s negotiations with Abbas in 2008 would also lead to failure. It isn’t for the lack of trying on the Israeli’s part. No, it is on the Palestinian leadership for not making an attempt to compromise in their biggest demands. I’ve read more than a few books that go into the details on the history of Israel or the conflict.

The reality is that we are further away from a two-state solution. Say what you will about the current Israeli government being the most right-wing government in the country’s history but there wasn’t much difference during the brief time with a centrist government. You need leadership on both sides that want it. Other than world leaders that do not live in the area, I’m not seeing any of the current leadership actively making the push for a two-state solution. Not while there are wars on multiple fronts in a battle for Israel’s very existence.

Pogrom(s) does its best to capture not just what happened on October 7 but an antisemitic and anti-Western ideology that is hijacking Western values. While this documentary runs nearly 90 minutes, it could easily be a documentary series or multi-part documentary as there is so much to cover and not enough time. But for a 90-minute film, it works as visual primer into the basics. That being said, I can recommend multiple books on either the history of Israel or the conflict.

DIRECTOR: Pierre Rehov

Middle East Studio releases Pogrom(s) on digital platforms on October 7, 2024. For more information about the film and how to watch it, click here. Grade: 4/5

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