Blind Spot (2024 film)

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| director = Seth Kramer, Jeremy Newberger, Daniel A. Miller

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| country = United States

| language = English

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| producer = Leonard Gold

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| runtime = 95 minutes

| company = Ironbound Films

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| network = Jewish Broadcasting Service

| released = {{Start date|2025|03|30}}

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Blind Spot is a 2024 American documentary film about campus antisemitism in the United States, prior to and following the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Synopsis

In the film, over two dozen US college students describe the rise of antisemitism on their campuses.{{cite web |last=Gilson |first=Grace |date=2025-04-05 |title=Five new documentaries shed light on the post-October 7 American experience |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/five-new-documentaries-shed-light-on-the-post-october-7-american-experience/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Times of Israel |archive-date=2025-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406191612/https://www.timesofisrael.com/five-new-documentaries-shed-light-on-the-post-october-7-american-experience/ |url-status=live }} Prominently featured are CUNY, Tulane, Columbia, and the University of California, Berkeley. Jewish leaders from campus and community organizations are interviewed, as is Representative Ritchie Torres.

Production

Executive producer Leonard Gold was first inspired to make the film 15 years earlier when he observed antisemitism as the father of a private school student in Manhattan. When antisemitism escalated on college campuses before and after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Gold perceived a "serious modern-day American civil rights problem".

The soundtrack includes music from Leonard Cohen, Nat King Cole, and Israeli cantors Naftali and Netanel Hershtik.

Critical reception

The film premiered in 2024 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York{{cite web |last=Russo-Lennon |first=Barbara |date=2024-10-18 |title=New Film Examines Antisemitism at NYC Colleges in 2024 |url=https://www.amny.com/news/new-film-antisemitism-at-nyc-colleges/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=amNewYork |archive-date=2025-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250416150228/https://www.amny.com/news/new-film-antisemitism-at-nyc-colleges/ |url-status=live }} and was shown at the Boca Jewish Film Festival.{{cite web |date=2024-11-27 |title=Boca International Jewish Film Festival to Host Florida Premiere of Blind Spot, a Groundbreaking Documentary Highlighting Campus Antisemitism |url=https://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2024/11/boca-international-jewish-film-festival-to-host-florida-premiere-of-blind-spot-a-groundbreaking-documentary-highlighting-campus-antisemitism/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |language=en-US |journal=The Boca Raton Tribune |archive-date=2024-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129011944/https://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2024/11/boca-international-jewish-film-festival-to-host-florida-premiere-of-blind-spot-a-groundbreaking-documentary-highlighting-campus-antisemitism/ |url-status=live }}

Fern Sidman called the film "an indictment, an inspiration, and above all, a mirror held up to a society". She noted the film's focus on social pressures on Jewish students to renounce their connection to Israel, calling this "a modern form of antisemitism cloaked in the language of social justice".{{cite web |last=Sidman |first=Fern |date=2025-03-27 |title=‘Blind Spot’ documentary on campus antisemitism premieres on JBS |url=https://www.jns.org/blind-spot-documentary-on-campus-antisemitism-premieres-on-jbs/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=JNS.org}} Douglas Altabef called the film "a fire alarm ringing and a profile of many of the firefighters trying to deal with the flames".{{cite web |last=Altabef |first=Douglas |date=2024-11-27 |title=The many faces of Jewish courage |url=https://www.jns.org/the-many-faces-of-jewish-courage/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=JNS.org |archive-date=2024-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209194557/https://www.jns.org/the-many-faces-of-jewish-courage/ |url-status=live }} The Jerusalem Post called the film "yet another red alert about Jew-hatred in America", noting that it began with events in 2022, in contrast to other documentaries on the topic, which were made after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.{{cite web |last=Cashman |first=Greer Fay |date=2024-11-20 |title=Grapevine: Nov. 19, 2024: Swiss cheese politics |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-829873 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}