MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday withdrew a resolution that would have terminated the city’s lease agreement with O Cinema after the nonprofit screened No Other Land, an Oscar-winning documentary about Palestinian and Israeli activists.
Now, a second resolution urging the theater to screen additional films on the Gaza conflict was deferred, leaving the issue open for future debate.
A large crowd attended Wednesday’s City Hall meeting, with most speaking out against the resolution.
Noon report:
A handful of supporters backed the mayor’s stance, including Miami and Hialeah’s mayors and the consul general of Israel in Miami.
“We saw democracy in action today,” said Kareem Tabsch, O Cinema’s co-founder and board chair, following the vote.
The resolution to end O Cinema’s lease sparked heated debate, with critics calling it an attempt at censorship and supporters, including Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, arguing the city should not provide funding to an organization that screens controversial content.
“The government owns the facility,” Meiner said. “Grant funding is involved.”
“If you are so concerned about free speech, don’t interrupt mine,” Commissioner David Suarez said from the dais.
Supporters of O Cinema defended the nonprofit art house, which operates in a city-owned building, arguing that documentary films exist to “challenge, to illuminate and to foster discourse.”
But opponents, including civil rights groups and cultural leaders, pushed back.
“Public funding for the arts does not allow the government to play the role of censor,” said Arnold Lehman, the retired director of the Brooklyn Museum. “Once it does fund the arts, it can’t rescind funding or threaten eviction because it disagrees with a viewpoint.”
Amid mounting criticism, Meiner withdrew the resolution to terminate the lease.
“I think this was, for the most part, a healthy discourse,” he said. “I knew this would create dialogue.”
What sparked the controversy?
Meiner said he watched the film and considered it “one-sided propaganda” that he felt could spread antisemitism.
“We’re in the heart of Miami Beach, a very highly populated Jewish area. If you went into the heart of a Black neighborhood and showed a racist film, or went into the heart of a Cuban neighborhood and showed a film that glorified (Fidel) Castro and the revolution, or the heart of a gay community and showed an attack on the LGBT community, I think someone would expect a response,” he added.
“The destruction of a school, the shooting of civilians, the pouring of concrete into a water well … these are not hateful inaccuracies. It’s certainly not antisemitic to portray it,” said an O Cinema employee.
“We should learn from history and not allow racist propaganda footage to be shown against any minority community,” another attendee stated.
“Punishing a cultural institution for screening a film about the lives of Palestinians contradicts the Jewish values I was raised with,” said Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt.
After extensive public and commissioner comments, the resolution was withdrawn, meaning O Cinema is no longer at risk of losing its lease over the film screening.
Still, a second resolution — encouraging O Cinema to screen films presenting “a fair and balanced viewpoint” on the Israel-Hamas war remains unsettled. Meiner deferred the measure, saying it requires more discussion.
Daniel Tilley, legal director for the ACLU of Florida, warned the resolution could still violate free speech rights.
“You can’t un-ring the bell of past retaliatory statements,” Tilley said. “The goal of both resolutions is the same — to restrict O Cinema’s speech and, in fact, compel certain speech.”
The city commission has not set a date for reconsidering the deferred resolution, however, Local 10 viewers can read it by clicking here.