Guardian review of 7 October documentary criticises negative portrayal of Hamas

A Guardian review of a documentary about the 7 October attacks criticises its negative portrayal of Hamas.

In his review of Channel 4’s One Day in October, which depicts the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri using CCTV footage, Stuart Jeffries writes: “[The documentary] does a good job of demonising Gazans, first as testosterone-crazed Hamas killers, later as shameless civilian looters, asset-stripping the kibbutz while bodies lay in the street and the terrified living hid.”

The kibbutz, which had a population of 1,200 before the attack, lost 100 people on the day now known as Black Shabbat. Twenty-six were kidnapped. Five of those were murdered in Gaza. Three are still being held.

Opening his review with a mention of Emily Hand, kidnapped from the kibbutz and held hostage until her release in November 2023, Jeffries goes on: “If you want to understand why Hamas murdered civilians, though, One Day in October won’t help.”

He writes that the documentary means viewers “sympathies are with relatable Israelis. A mother texting farewell messages as she dies from gunshot wounds. A girl sending cute pictures of her playing with friends to her mum, who is cowering in a toilet cubicle, hoping the terrorists she can hear breathing outside can’t hear her.”

He continues: “By contrast, Hamas terrorists are a generalised menace on CCTV, their motives beyond One Day in October’s remit.”

The review sparked instant disbelief. Dave Rich, director of policy at Community Security Trust (CST), the charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism, wrote on Twitter/X: “As if there’s something wrong with sympathising with an Israeli child cowering in fear rather than the terrorists coming to kill her.”

Journalist Hadley Freeman posted: “Does the Guardian understand this was a documentary? How very dare this documentary trick us by showing Hamas as murderous terrorists and Israeli citizens as relatable human beings?”

Simon Myerson KC wrote: “What’s fascinating about the review, given it went through the editorial process, is the light shed on groupthink Guardian, which lacks morality because all those involved regarded Jews as in some way deserving of death.”

The writer and comedian David Baddiel posted: “It’s revealing. Because the obvious thing to say is not that the documentary demonises Hamas – it simply shows Hamas, through their own audio and footage – but that the documentary makes uncomfortable viewing for those who wish to believe that Hamas represents the Palestinians, both their suffering and their political purpose, rather than being inspired by Jew-hatred and violence. So the conclusion you have to come to is that the One Day In October was uncomfortable for the reviewer, perhaps for the Guardian, and rather than own that, the review chose to blame the film for that.”

Jewish News has contacted the Guardian’s editor, Katherine Viner, and the newspaper’s regulator for comment. One Day in October can be viewed here.