A Jewish group is confident its screening of a controversial Oscar-winning documentary about Israeli displacement of Palestinians will go ahead, despite complaints sparking a cinema to cancel the film.
The screening on May 1 in Melbourne of No Other Land, the polarising winner of this year's best documentary Oscar, was axed by Classic Cinemas Elsternwick on Wednesday after more than 20 complaints to the cinema, Jewish Council of Australia, a pro-Palestinian group, said.
The event, organised by the council and scheduled to be followed by a discussion between a Palestinian and an Israeli speaker, also faced a threat of protests, according to the group.
An alternate screening has been scheduled for the city's Palace Bright Bay cinema in May, the Jewish Council of Australia said on Friday.
The group's executive officer Sarah Schwartz said she was confident the rescheduled event would go ahead, despite the likelihood of more complaints.
"I think it's fairly outrageous that the pro-Israel agitators would be trying to block the screening of an Oscar-winning film," she said.
Ms Schwartz labelled the cancellation "part of a broader trend of these individuals and groups trying and failing to enforce a pro-Israel orthodoxy within the Jewish community".
Palace Cinemas, which runs the Brighton Bay venue, did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the screening.
Event organiser Sophia Kagan said she was disappointed by Classic Cinemas Elsternwick's decision to abandon the session.
"There are dozens and dozens of Jewish - and non-Jewish - residents in our neighbourhood, like me, that do want to see this film and no one is being forced to watch against their will," Ms Kagan said.
The screening was reportedly a fundraiser for costs incurred by settler-state violence in Palestinian hamlets in the southern West Bank, an area seized by Israel in 1967, but seen by Palestinians as key to a future Palestinian state.
Classic Cinemas Elsternwick, in Glen Eira, home to one of Australia's largest Jewish populations of about 23,600 people, was contacted for comment.
Australia has grappled with a rise in cases of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched a war in Gaza in response.
