Despite winning an Oscar, the Israeli-Palestinian-made film No Other Land cannot be found on any streaming platforms in the United States, making independent cinemas the only places to view it. However, in Miami Beach, even featuring the film will get you labeled an antisemite and kicked out of the city.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, who is Jewish and has deep personal and political ties to Israel, stirred controversy last week for seeking to shut down an independent art house cinema over its showing of the “No Other Land” documentary after attempting to pressure organizers to cancel a planned screening. Meiner claims that the film is antisemitic and a “propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.”
The Mayor’s crusade against the cinema for daring to show an Oscar-winning film that is critical of Israel has led him to push through a draft resolution to halt a future grant payment of $40,000 to the nonprofit O Cinema in South Beach, Florida. Meiner is also pursuing legislative efforts to terminate a lease agreement with the independent theater that screened the film.
Despite its global success, “No Other Land” is currently not available to stream in the United States due to “political sensitivities.” This has meant that only a select number of independent theaters have been able to show the documentary.
Although the accusations made against the film claim that it is “an attack on the Jewish people,” “No Other Land” was actually created through a collaborative effort between two Israeli Jews and two Palestinians—Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. Some Palestinian groups have even criticized the film for violating “anti-normalization guidelines,” according to a statement published by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
Yet, for Mayor Meiner, Israeli involvement in the film’s production does not grant it any legitimacy. His intolerance for the documentary is consistent with Miami Beach’s broader crackdown on pro-Palestine advocacy. In March 2024, a city commission draft resolution was passed restricting the time, place, and manner of protests against Israeli policy. (more...)
How Miami Beach Became a Lab for Pro-Israel Censorship Laws
Celebrating the 76th Independence Day of the modern State of Israel tonight at Hebrew Academy! I stand with Israel today, tomorrow and forever! 🇮🇱 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vt7LRhRuCN
— Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner (@StevenMeiner) May 14, 2024
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