Connect with us

RSS

Miami Beach Mayor Threatens to Terminate Lease, Cut Funding to Theater Screening Anti-Israel Film

Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land” during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner has proposed that the city terminate its lease of an independent, non-profit movie theater and stop funding to the venue because it is showing sold-out screenings of the anti-Israel Oscar-winning film “No Other Land.”

Earlier this month, O Cinema became the first theater in Miami to screen “No Other Land,” a film produced by Israelis and Palestinians that criticizes Israel and the country’s military actions while focusing on the demolition of a small community in the West Bank.

“No Other Land” won best documentary feature film at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2. It has been picked up for distribution in 24 countries but has no distributor in the US, so its filmmakers have been making individuals deals with cinemas, such as O Cinema. It premiered at the Miami Beach theater on March 14 and its screenings this week are sold out. The city of Miami Beach is listed as a supporter of O Cinema on its website.

Meiner is proposing that Miami Beach terminate its lease agreement with O Cinema – which is located on city property on the first floor of Old City Hall – suspend and terminate grant money to the theater, and discontinue any further funding. The Miami Beach City Commission will vote on the resolution on Wednesday.

The mayor’s proposal comes after he sent a letter to O Cinema on March 5, asking its CEO Vivian Marthell to cancel the theater’s screenings of “No Other Land.” He pointed out that Miami Beach has “has one of the largest concentrations of Jewish residents in the United States” and described the documentary as “hateful propaganda.” Meiner also wrote in the letter, obtained by the Miami Herald, that “No Other Land” is “antisemitic” and “a one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents.” He asked Marthell “on behalf of the residents of Miami Beach” to reconsider the venue’s decision to screen the film.

“Unfortunately, Jews for thousands of years have heard this antisemitic rhetoric; I am just surprised that O Cinema, utilizing Miami Beach taxpayer funding, would willingly disseminate such hateful propaganda,” Meiner said. “Here in Miami Beach, our city has adopted a strong policy of support for the State of Israel in its struggle to defend itself and its residents against attacks by the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. Airing performances of the one-sided, inaccurate film ‘No Other Land’ at a movie theater facility owned by the city and operated by O Cinema is disappointing.”

The theater ignored Meiner’s letter and proceeded with its screenings of the controversial film.

During their acceptance speech at the Oscars earlier this month, the Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers of “No Other Land” accused Israel of “ethnic supremacy,” occupation, “injustice,” and “the ethnic cleaning of Palestinian people.” They also criticized the US for supporting Israel, claiming it blocks peace between Israel and Palestinians.

Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar said the film “amplifies narratives that distort Israel’s image.” He added that “turning the defamation of Israel into a tool for international promotion is not art — it is sabotage against the State of Israel, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre and the ongoing war.”

The filmmakers of “No Other Land” also made anti-Israel comments on stage when accepting the award for best documentary at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2024. They additionally called on Germany to cease arms exports to Israel. Their comments were criticized by Claudia Roth, Germany’s federal government commissioner for culture and the media, who described the remarks as “shockingly one-sided and characterized by deep hatred of Israel.”

O Cinema’s co-founder and board of directors chair Kareem Tabsch told NPR about Meiner’s threats, saying it “sounds like censorship to me.”

“We’ve always shown films that have sparked real strong sentiments and real strong opinions,” Tabsch added. “Throughout the years, we’ve certainly had vocal audience members or community members who’ve questioned some programming choices … But what we have never encountered is elected officials trying to dictate what we should and should not be showing. That’s certainly a first.”

Marthell shared with the Miami Herald a short speech explaining the theater’s position on the film that will be read at every screening at the venue.

“We understand the power of cinema and its ability to tell stories that matter. Yet, we also understand that some stories, especially those rooted in real-world conflicts, can evoke strong feelings and passionate reactions,” Marthell said. “But let me be clear: our decision to screen “No Other Land” is not a declaration of political alignment. It is, however, a bold reaffirmation of our fundamental belief that every voice deserves to be heard, even, and perhaps especially, when it challenges us.”

The post Miami Beach Mayor Threatens to Terminate Lease, Cut Funding to Theater Screening Anti-Israel Film first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

Continue Reading

RSS

Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

Continue Reading

RSS

Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News