Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner on Wednesday withdrew a controversial proposal to shutter a local movie theater that screened an Oscar-winning documentary on the war between Israel and Palestine.
Mayor Steven Meiner called the film, titled “No Other Land,” a “one-sided propaganda piece” that painted the Israeli Army and Jewish people “in a very negative light.” He had introduced a resolution that would end the city’s lease with the O Cinema theater and cut government grant funding.
But at a city commission meeting on Wednesday, where speakers denounced attempts to close or censor the movie theatre, he announced that he was withdrawing the proposal.
He said he was deferring an alternative proposal that encouraged the theater to “showcase films that highlight a fair and balanced viewpoint of the current war between the state of Israel and the groups Hamas and Hezbollah.”
The film debuted on March 7 at O Cinema, which is located in the old City Hall.
“It definitely triggers emotions,” Meiner, who is Jewish, said in a Tuesday virtual town hall ahead of the vote. “I took the time to research it and the facts are a little different than what the movie portrays.”
Hundreds of members of the international filmmaking community, however, have called the mayor’s proposal an “attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment.”
“It is also an offense to the people of Miami Beach, and Greater Miami as a whole, who deserve to have access to a diverse range of films and perspectives,” they wrote in an open letter to the city. “We urge you to reconsider your decision and to allow O Cinema to continue to operate without interference.”
As of Wednesday morning, 752 people had signed the letter.
Yuval Abraham, one of the film’s directors, said the mayor’s remarks are dangerous.
“Banning a film only makes people more determined to see it,” he said in a post on X.
Kareem Tabsch, a documentary filmmaker and the co-founder of O Cinema, said the theater should be allowed to show “films that are thought-provoking and engaging.” He accused the mayor of using his position as an elected official “to undermine” First Amendment rights.
In Tuesday’s virtual town hall, Meiner accused the film’s producers of saying “very hurtful words certainly to the Jewish people,” which he said prompted him to look into and watch the film.
The mayor said that ahead of the film’s screening, he sent a letter to the theater expressing his concerns and asking that they reconsider showing it. He said while the theater’s CEO said the film would not be shown because of concerns about anti-Semitic rhetoric, the theater’s board overruled that decision and went ahead with the screening.
The theater changing course gave him “some pause about the level of partnership that we have,” the mayor added.
“It’s government property. If they’re showing this film in a private theater, you know, … there’s nothing I can say,” Meiner said, adding that he believes there is an “extreme double standard” and if the film targeted other groups “you might get kind of a pushback.”
According to its website, the theater is set to screen “No Other Land” again on Wednesday and Thursday and both days are sold out.
Anthony Cusumano contributed.
