Abstract

The Toronto International Film Festival’s withdrawal of a documentary on the October 7 Hamas massacre over the lack of “permission” from Hamas marks a serious moral failure and reflects antisemitic patterns. Viewed through Scripture, Jewish history, and Christian theology, the decision grants narrative control to perpetrators, undermines truth, and erases Jewish suffering. This article calls Christians to reject neutrality, stand with the Jewish people, and defend truth as a biblical mandate, confronting the cost of silencing history’s urgent testimonies.

On October 7, 2023, Israel awoke to terror. In the early hours, Hamas gunmen stormed across the border, attacking homes, communities, and gatherings. They murdered over 1,200 people men and women, young and old. Children were executed in front of their parents; parents were slaughtered trying to shield their children. It was the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. What makes these crimes even more chilling is that much of the evidence did not come from journalists or investigators, but from the attackers themselves, who filmed their own brutality and proudly spread it online.

Nearly two years later, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) had agreed to screen The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a documentary by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich. The film tells the extraordinary true story of retired IDF General Noam Tibon, who, upon hearing about the assault, left his home in northern Israel and drove south to save his son, Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon, and his family. Trapped in their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz as Hamas fighters roamed the streets, Amir, his wife, and their two young daughters could only wait for rescue. Noam’s journey became a fight for survival not just for his family, but for others. Along the way, he engaged armed terrorists, pulled injured civilians from the massacre at the Nova music festival, and joined soldiers in driving the attackers out of the kibbutz. Thirteen of the kibbutz’s residents were killed that day, and several were kidnapped.

But instead of honoring the story, TIFF withdrew the film from its program. The reason? Officially, the festival claimed the production had not met all “legal clearance” requirements. But according to Israeli media and the filmmakers themselves, TIFF demanded proof that the producers had obtained “permission” from Hamas to use footage shot by its Nukhba fighters footage that documents their own war crimes. This was a demand that could never be met without absurdly legitimizing the very terrorists who committed the atrocities.

The Dangerous Precedent of Surrendering the Narrative

By making this demand, TIFF effectively gave veto power over the telling of October 7 to the perpetrators. This is not a dispute about artistic license or intellectual property. It is the granting of moral authority to those who reject truth itself. It says, in effect, “Your crimes may only be shown to the world if you allow them to be shown.”

Would TIFF have asked for permission from the SS before screening footage of Auschwitz? Would they have sought approval from Al-Qaeda before showing a 9/11 documentary? The suggestion is offensive, but it is exactly the standard they have now set.

The Ancient Pattern of Erasing the Jewish Story

The Jewish people have always been called to remember. From God’s command to Israel to recall Amalek’s attack (Deuteronomy 25:17–19), to the annual retelling of the Exodus at Passover (Exodus 12:24–27), memory is woven into the covenant identity of the Jewish people. This remembrance is not merely cultural; it is a spiritual act of resistance against those who seek to destroy both the body and the testimony of Israel.

History is filled with attempts to erase that testimony. The Babylonians looted the Temple and scattered the people. Haman plotted their annihilation in Persia. Rome sought to erase Jewish identity and sovereignty. Medieval Europe locked Jews in ghettos and rewrote their history through lies and libel. The Nazis murdered six million while carefully destroying evidence of their crimes.

To erase the record is to attack the very existence of a people.

And it rarely begins with open denial. It often starts with something that looks procedural, reasonable, or bureaucratic. In this case, the language is “legal clearance.” But beneath the paperwork lies the same ancient hatred—antisemitism.

Antisemitism in Its “Respectable” Form

We often picture antisemitism as graffiti on a synagogue wall or chants at a protest. But it also thrives in polite, prestigious spaces. It appears when Jewish suffering is minimized, when Jewish history is reframed through the lens of its enemies, or when Jewish voices are silenced in the name of “balance.”

TIFF’s decision is an example of this. By requiring Hamas’s “permission” to use footage, they legitimized the perpetrators as the gatekeepers of truth. As Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

A Christian Mandate for Truth

For followers of Jesus, truth is not a convenience—it is a calling. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The ninth commandment forbids bearing false witness, not only in court but in all of life (Exodus 20:16). To distort or suppress truth is to defy the character of God Himself.

Scripture warns against justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous (Proverbs 17:15). Christians are grafted into the olive tree of Israel (Romans 11:17–18), meaning the history of the Jewish people is the foundation of our own faith.

To allow antisemitism to erase that history is to erode the very roots of the Gospel story.

Why This Moment Matters

Some will say TIFF’s decision is “just about copyright law.” But history shows that truth doesn’t disappear all at once it is chipped away. Holocaust denial began not with bold declarations, but with small restrictions: questioning details, dismissing testimonies, and labeling evidence as “disputed.”

If terrorists can dictate how their crimes are shown, their victims are killed twice—once in body, and once in memory. Today it is a withdrawn film; tomorrow it may be the quiet removal of archives, the editing of survivor testimonies, or the rebranding of October 7 as a “complex conflict” instead of mass murder.

A Call to Moral Clarity

Neutrality in the face of evil is not neutral—it is a choice. When cultural leaders bow to those who commit atrocities, they send a message that evil may set the terms of its own exposure.

Christians, especially, must refuse silence. We are called to be watchmen (Ezekiel 33:6–7), to speak when danger threatens, and to guard truth for the next generation. The Jewish people have endured centuries of erasure. We must not stand by while it happens again—on our watch.

TIFF’s withdrawal of The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue is not simply an administrative decision. It is a moral failure with consequences far beyond the festival. It gives comfort to the wicked, wounds the righteous, and teaches the next generation that truth can be negotiated away.

For the God who cannot lie, truth is never for sale. If we fail to speak now, the question history will ask is not about TIFF—it will be about us.

---

Sources

• Jerusalem Post Staff, “TIFF withdraws Oct. 7 doc because filmmakers ‘didn’t receive permission from Hamas to use videos’,” The Jerusalem Post, Aug. 13, 2025.
• Times of Israel Staff, “Toronto film fest nixes Oct. 7 doc screening, said to cite Hamas ownership of massacre clips,” The Times of Israel, Aug. 13, 2025.
• Associated Press, “Toronto film festival cancels screening of Oct. 7 documentary,” AP News, Aug. 13, 2025.
• Jewish News Syndicate Staff, “Toronto Film Festival cancels screening of Oct. 7 documentary,” Jewish News Syndicate, Aug. 13, 2025.