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As a Jewish Santa Cruz resident of over 20 years, a festivalgoer and someone who studied Judaism at UC Davis and works with both synagogues and mosques across the Bay Area, I found Lookout’s coverage of the “October 8” screening deeply troubling.

The article gave undue weight to protesters’ perspectives without scrutiny, overlooked the emotional impact on Jewish attendees and failed to highlight how the film addresses the documented rise in antisemitism following October 7. Many attendees — including pro-Palestinian Jews affiliated with Temple Beth El’s support for “No Other Land” — faced harassment simply for gathering peacefully to watch a film about antisemitism.

This hits close to home. I have personal connections to families of the October 7 hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was born in Berkeley and represented our Bay Area Jewish community before being killed by Hamas. To see Jews in Santa Cruz being intimidated, while your coverage largely validated protesters’ unverified claims, is deeply concerning.

Your article also failed to clarify that Zionism is not supremacy or hatred — it is the belief that Jews deserve safety from the ongoing threat of annihilation. Just three days ago, on March 31, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei tweeted: “The Zionist criminal gang must be totally eliminated from Palestine.” In a speech that same day, he called it a “religious, moral and humanitarian duty to strive to eradicate the Israeli regime.” These aren’t historical or theoretical concerns — they’re current, explicit threats that Zionism exists to resist.

In future reporting, please include context such as: Zionism, the belief in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish homeland, reflects most Jews’ identity, is rooted in 3,000 years of indigenous history and is neither a slur nor supremacy — one can be Zionist and support a two-state solution.

This isn’t just a reaction to one screening — it’s a call to uphold the values of accuracy, empathy, and inclusion in our local media.

Joshua Logan

Santa Cruz