MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Miami Seashore Mayor Steven Meiner withdrew his proposal to terminate the lease of a small theater that confirmed the Oscar-winning movie ‘No Different Land,’ according to Axios.
The movie, directed by a gaggle of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, paperwork the destruction of Palestinian communities within the West Financial institution by the Israeli army.
O Cinema, an unbiased theater situated within the Miami Seashore Historic Metropolis Corridor, receives some grant cash from town, which the mayor additionally threatened to drag.
Meiner wrote a letter to the theater’s CEO Vivian Marthell previous to the primary screening on March 7 asking her to rethink displaying the movie and calling it a “one-sided propaganda assault on the Jewish folks,” according to the Associated Press.
Whereas Marthell initially agreed to not present ‘No Different Land,’ she mentioned she reversed course after consulting with the remainder of the O Cinema board and contemplating the implications without cost speech.
The mayor’s proposal sparked vital pushback from many in Miami Seashore and the worldwide filmmaking neighborhood.
Over 700 folks signed an open letter to town urging commissioners to reject the proposal.
“We as filmmakers invite crucial dialogue of any movie, however your determination to punish O Cinema for screening “No Different Land” is an assault on freedom of expression, the proper of artists to inform their tales, and a violation of the First Modification,” the letter mentioned.
One of many movie’s administrators, Yuval Abraham, went on X to criticize what he described because the mayor’s use of accusations of antisemitism to silence “Palestinians and Israelis who proudly oppose occupation and apartheid collectively.”
“Banning a movie solely makes folks extra decided to see it,” Abraham wrote.
The vote on Meiner’s proposal was scheduled to happen Wednesday, however the mayor withdrew it after audio system on the assembly overwhelmingly opposed the motion.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
