TIFF’s decision to pull Barry Avrich’s The Road Between Us about an October 7 hero is a shameful act of self-censorship in the face of antisemitic pressure. For me, this isn’t just about one film—it’s about whether Jewish voices and stories are still welcome in the spaces that claim to champion diversity and truth.

I’ve long been told that my voice matters in film criticism because I am a transgender film critic—and while that perspective is important, my Jewish and Zionist identity has always shaped the core of who I am. Right now, that part of me is under attack from every direction. The hate is not just coming from strangers online, but from people I once considered colleagues, friends, and allies.

That is why the Toronto International Film Festival’s decision to pull The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue from its documentary lineup is not only infuriating, but wrong. TIFF has chosen self-censorship in the face of both staff protests over a film about an October 7 hero and the threat of external demonstrations. This is the same festival that, just over a year ago, included Russian propaganda in its documentary lineup without apparent concern about “risk” or “protest.”

TIFF publicly cited “general requirements” for festival inclusion in their statement to Deadline, including clearing rights for all footage. But according to The Globe and Mail, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey’s email to filmmaker Barry Avrich made no mention of licensing rights, instead emphasizing “the risk of major, disruptive protest actions around the film’s presence at the Festival, including internal opposition, has become too great.”

The film tells the story of Maj. Gen. Noam Tibon, a retired Israel Defense Forces officer who rushed to Kibbutz Nahal Oz on the morning of October 7, 2023, to save his family from Hamas terrorists—and in the process, rescued many others from the nearby Nova Music Festival. His bravery has been documented on 60 Minutes, and his son, journalist Amir Tibon, has written a book about it. This is a story that deserves to be seen by the widest audience possible.

Tibon himself called the decision “absurd and delusional” according to The Times of Israel.

“The Toronto Film Festival has succumbed to pressure and threats, and has chosen to silence and erase October 7,” says retired IDF Major General Noam Tibon. “My message to the festival management: The truth cannot be erased. The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied.” […]

“The festival management’s claim that the film cannot be screened because ‘permissions to use’ the footage of the Nukhba terrorists were not obtained is absurd and delusional, and constitutes further harm to the victims,” Tibon says.

He is right. In my view, TIFF has succumbed to pressure and threats, effectively choosing to erase October 7 from its program. That’s not balancing safety and artistic freedom—it’s moral cowardice.

As a Jewish critic, I’ve been through this before. I’ve faced harassment campaigns for signing open letters calling out Jonathan Glazer’s appalling Oscar speech. And now, as almost always, the people I see speaking up against this decision are other Jewish journalists and filmmakers. Too often, our non-Jewish peers stay silent, either out of discomfort or fear. To the few who have actively spoken out against antisemitism, I thank you.

I’ve gone from attending festivals where there were nearly a dozen Israeli films in the lineup to seeing where this is just one—this year’s sole selection is a film that is mostly set in Poland. The absence speaks volumes. And it leaves me wondering: are Jews still truly welcome in these spaces?

To my non-Jewish colleagues: this is your moment to show that your solidarity is not conditional. Antisemitism in the entertainment industry is real, and it is growing. What TIFF has done is part of that problem.

The truth cannot be erased, and the atrocities committed on October 7 cannot be denied. TIFF should have been brave enough to stand by this film. They weren’t. And that failure will be remembered.

Edit: Following publication, I learned that TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey released a statement.

The 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 50), presented by Rogers, will take place September 4–14, 2025.

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