A Philadelphia court issued on Tuesday an injunction against a local movie theater that axed a screening event for a new Israeli documentary over "Israel's recent and ongoing actions."
The Philadelphia court ordered the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to uphold its contract with the Philadelphia Israeli Film Festival and screen the movie — a documentary about the life and work of Israeli singer-songwriter Yehuda Poliker. The film was screened in front of a sold-out crowd shortly after the ruling.
Festival chair Nurit Yaron announced that following the court order, the Jewish community rallied, selling out all 200+ tickets.
"It's sad that we've reached this point, that we live in 2024 but some behave like it's 1939. The cinema had no choice; I handed the order to the manager, who is Jewish by the way, and he didn't know how to process it," Yaron expressed her disappointment to Ynet.
"Eventually, they realized they got themselves into a mess, so it was better to proceed with the screening and put the matter to rest. Everything went smoothly, but audience members voiced their opinions to the manager. We've been collaborating with this institution for 18 years, and our biggest concern is that this cancellation may lead to others. We've already received several such inquiries, and that's why we had no choice but to resort to court to stop this from snowballing. Let it be clear: the festival will go on as planned, on a large scale and the community will continue to support it because they understand that it represents them."
One of the institute's board members resigned in protest of the cancellation of the screening. Outside the hall, a demonstration initially planned to protest against the cinema turned into a demonstration of support following the court's injunction.
Guy Brodetsky, one of the protest organizers who moved from Israel to Philadelphia for his wife's studies, said, "The management made a mistake, we corrected it, and we are helping to cope with the situation. Other businesses must realize that if they support us, we will support them. We will not let hate infiltrate our neighborhoods. We will not bow down to BDS, for every inch they take, we will stand against them."
When the screening began, some protesters put down their signs and joined the audience inside the hall. Meanwhile, a small pro-Palestinian counterprotest gathered nearby.
However, the court order did little to soften the demonstrators' criticism of the cinematheque's actions. "The cancellation was driven by antisemitism and mirrors recent occurrences in this area. The cinema capitulated to the intimidation of BDS and pro-Palestinian students," asserts Brodetsky.
"In the cancellation notice, they wrote, 'we do not want to take sides in the conflict', but what conflict is Yehuda Poliker involved in? This is not a film about the Gaza war or the Israeli conflict. It's a film about an individual with a complex story, and this all comes following the desecration of synagogues and attacks on Israeli-owned restaurants in the area. It's simply anti-Jewish bullying. The biggest question we can't comprehend is how does canceling this film help the Palestinians?"
Samuel Scott, the movie theater's manager, informed the film's distributors and festival organizers at the last moment that in the current political climate, the screening might be perceived as an "endorsement of Israel's recent and ongoing actions" and therefore was canceled.
Poliker, The Child Within Me, a documentary tracing the life journey of the beloved singer, was selected as the opening film of the Docaviv 2023 festival. The Philadelphia Israeli Film Festival, which is now in its 28th year, has collaborated with the Israeli Consulate in New York and the Jewish Community Association in the Philadelphia area over the years.