I saw it. I stood there in Tel Aviv, eyes glued to the chilling footage of October 7th, 2023. I witnessed this footage last Sunday, May 25th, 2025—a screening granted to only a select few. Footage too horrific, too brutal, to be easily forgotten. Children slaughtered. Families burned alive. People mutilated beyond recognition. An entire family murdered without mercy or hesitation. All filmed, celebrated even, by those who carried out this monstrous attack. Hamas terrorists turning murder into spectacle..
I am Aro Korol, a London-based filmmaker currently working on the documentary "Mother of Hate". I travelled to Israel to document the resurgence of antisemitism, believing that the truth is the strongest weapon against hate. I never imagined that witnessing these atrocities would become part of my journey.
I've always been vocal about my admiration for Israel, even though I'm not Jewish. Growing up in Poland, the shadows of antisemitism loomed large, hidden yet palpable. When I worked on Spielberg's "Schindler's List" as a young man, I thought I'd confronted the worst humanity could offer. I was wrong.
October 7th's massacre by Hamas revealed a level of cruelty difficult to fathom, let alone process. Israeli hostages and survivors impregnated, then forced to undergo abortions. Children forced to watch the rape and murder of family members. Israeli women subjected to unspeakable sexual violence, their bodies violated grotesquely, weapons forcibly inserted into them. These were calculated acts, not just to kill but to annihilate the spirit, to degrade humanity itself.
Yet, what chills me most isn't just the violence—it's the world's muted reaction. How swiftly humanity forgets. We've seen university campuses becoming breeding grounds for Jew-hatred, fuelled by extremist rhetoric and unchallenged by those who profess to champion human rights. Media outlets, notably the BBC, twist language, describing Hamas terrorists as "resistance fighters," legitimising their atrocities. Reports reveal shocking lapses: BBC journalists openly sympathising with terrorists, misleadingly questioning massacres as if mere conspiracies.
I have seen first-hand the devastating results of this media manipulation. I witnessed the BBC repeatedly question the reality of these horrors, undermining survivors' trauma and diminishing their suffering. This systemic bias is not mere oversight—it is complicity, fueling a dangerous narrative that allows antisemitism to flourish and spread like poison.
In Gaza, Hamas doesn't merely oppress; it extinguishes freedom entirely, particularly targeting women's freedom. Contrast this with the vibrant, autonomous women at Israel's Nova Festival, who were targeted simply for daring to celebrate life. Hamas seeks to destroy not just lives but the very ideas of autonomy, freedom, and joy itself.
This hateful narrative has seeped into British streets and schools, making Jewish Britons increasingly fearful for their safety, their identity becoming something to hide rather than proudly celebrate. From swastikas etched onto British golf clubs to chants of "global intifada" outside synagogues, antisemitism is thriving. Reports of intimidation and harassment towards Jewish students have surged dramatically, leaving many afraid to even reveal their heritage openly. The UK government's symbolic condemnations mean little unless matched by decisive, protective action. Jewish communities deserve genuine safety and support, not hollow statements of solidarity.
I refuse to be a passive witness. What I saw demands action. It demands truth. Those denying the atrocities of October 7th must face the unflinching reality I confronted in Tel Aviv. My film is dedicated to exposing these uncomfortable truths, combating misinformation, and highlighting our collective moral duty.
As Einstein once warned, "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." Never again must we allow ourselves simply to watch.
I am a witness. And as long as I live, the world will know the truth.