Israeli consulate to host ‘exclusive’ screening of Hamas attack footage for KY legislators

The Israeli government is inviting Kentucky lawmakers to bear “witness to the crimes against humanity” of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in an “exclusive closed door screening” in Frankfort in mid-January.

An emailed invitation sent on behalf of Consul General to the Southeastern U.S. Anat Sultan-Dadon to lawmakers says the 45 minutes of footage was “compiled and released by the Israel Defense Force for the purpose of allowing for leaders to bear witness to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on that day.”

The screening is to take place 6 p.m. Jan. 17. The location was not provided to lawmakers until after their RSVP.

The invitation was confirmed to the Herald-Leader by multiple lawmakers.

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, said the invitation was initiated by the consulate and was sent to all state lawmakers and constitutional officers. Grossberg, who is Jewish, co-chairs the Kentucky-Israel Caucus alongside Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield.

In a Wednesday email to House leadership, Grossberg wrote Tichenor had already secured the approval of Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester.

Grossberg acknowledged the footage would be difficult for some to watch, as it would include “actual murders, rape, torture, beheading, lighting people on fire” and more.

“In Judaism, we are instructed to do two things: Bear witness, and act,” he wrote in the email. “It isn’t always easy, and no one will judge you if this is too much. But if you can handle it, I encourage you to do so.”

On Oct. 7, terrorists from Hamas launched deadly attacks inside Israel, killing 1,200 people. The ensuing war in the region has left more than 20,000 Palestinians dead, and more than 100 Israeli hostages remain kidnapped by Hamas.

“Bearing witness to the crimes against humanity that have been committed is our shared responsibility,” the invitation said.

“The video contains raw and unedited footage, including the documentation of murders and other visually disturbing scenes.”

Lawmakers were told they could not bring their “phones, watches or any other recording devices into the screening.” They could, however, discuss what they had seen after the event.

Grossberg’s email said such a briefing is “quite rare.”

“We are only the second in the Southeast to get it behind Georgia,” he wrote.

Grossberg also said the news media would receive an invitation to the briefing and be invited to report on it. Journalists would also not be allowed to record, his email said.

“This cannot be leaked and glorified in the internet,” he wrote.

This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 2:48 PM.

Tessa Duvall

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0430

Tessa has been the Herald-Leader’s Politics and Public Affairs Editor since March 2024, after acting as Frankfort Bureau Chief since joining the paper in August 2022. A native of Bowling Green and a graduate of Western Kentucky University, Tessa has also reported in Texas, Florida and Louisville, where she covered education, criminal justice and policing.