Reading time: 4 minutes
7 October: How the West failed the Moral Test
MCC Brussels Releases New Documentary
Seventy-nine years after the Holocaust, we told ourselves: “Never Again.” And yet, on October 7, as Jews were massacred, much of the West looked away - or worse, cheered.
MCC Brussels is proud to announce the release of its new 10 minute documentary, 7 October: How the West failed the Moral Test, a sobering reflection on the atrocities of that day and their civilisational significance. The film examines how the massacre and its aftermath revealed uncomfortable truths about antisemitism, Western values, and the moral challenges facing our societies.
Watch the full film here
Four Urgent Questions
Part of MCC Brussels’ Reflections on Antisemitism series, the film is structured around four pressing questions:
- When did “genocide” stop meaning what it once did?
Once defined by the Holocaust, the term is now stretched into a catch-all accusation - often turned against the Jewish state itself. - Did October 7 expose antisemitism in its rawest form?
Why did so many in the West deny, relativise, or even justify the massacre? - Why do Western governments falter in defending Israel?
Is it fear, moral weakness, or a deeper collapse of confidence in the values Israel represents? - Was October 7 a civilisational rupture?
Does this moment mark not only terror, but also a turning point in how the West understands evil, identity, and survival?
Featured Contributors
The documentary brings together leading voices from journalism, academia, and public life:
- Rawan Osman - Syrian-born, German-based journalist, political commentator, and peace activist; founder of ArabsAsk, a platform challenging stereotypes and advocating Arab-Israeli dialogue.
- Daniel Ben-Ami - UK journalist and author; founder and editor of Radicalism of Fools (radicalismoffools.com), a project rethinking antisemitism and defending free speech.
- Fanni Surjányi - Head of the Middle East Research Project at MCC (Hungary); expert on Islam’s origins, Arab–Israeli conflicts, and Middle Eastern–Western relations.
- Frank Furedi - Executive Director, MCC Brussels.
- Mark Birbeck - UK activist and founder of Our Fight, established in response to October 7 to challenge antisemitism and mobilize civic solidarity with Israel.
- James Heartfield - British historian and lecturer; author of provocative works on empire, commemoration, and the political legacies of Britain’s past.
Their perspectives lend depth and urgency to the film’s themes.
“One of the tools to criticise Israel is the ill-defined concept of settler colonialism.” - Fanni Surjányi
“We have the moral obligation not only to protect Israel but also what it stands for.” - Rawan Osman
A Civilisational Question
Through testimony, analysis, and striking imagery, the film asks whether the West’s silence and equivocation in the face of antisemitism reveal a crisis deeper than politics: a crisis of civilisation itself.
This is both a warning and a call to reflection. The resurgence of antisemitism in Western societies cannot be dismissed as fringe or temporary. It poses a direct challenge to the moral foundations of liberty, democracy, and nationhood.
The documentary is now available on MCC Brussels’ official channels. Or here through this link: https://youtu.be/GLaYRsA2MQI
About MCC Brussels -
At a time of unprecedented political polarisation, MCC Brussels is committed to providing a home for genuine policy deliberation and an in-depth exploration of the issues of our time.
Formed three years ago to provide an opportunity for intellectuals and experts to debate and assess the conceptual and normative status of European policy making. Drawing on MCC’s outstanding pool of expertise we attempt to acquaint and influence European policy makers with a distinct approach towards the political, socio-economic and cultural issues of our time.
