1,000-strong crowd support Nova film screening in face of abuse
Counter-protest to protect north London's Phoenix cinema turns into street party celebrating Israel and calling for release of hostages in Gaza
An estimated 1,000-strong crowd came out on Thursday evening to support the local screening of a 52-minute documentary about the Nova music festival massacre on October 7th after the cinema was vandalised.
‘Say no to art washing‘ had been scrawled in bright red graffiti at the Phoenix, London’s oldest continuously running cinema, overnight on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s 8pm showing of ‘Supernova’ hosted by UJIA, as part of the Seret Israeli film festival.
Artists for Palestine UK had called for a 7pm protest against the screening. Following a call to action to counter protest that quickly went viral, local Jewish community members and allies crowded outside the small venue.
With numbers quickly swelling, Israel supporters chanted ‘terrorist supporters off our streets’ and were seen wearing ‘Say no to terror’, ‘Openly Jewish’, ‘Zionist’ and ‘Please don’t arrest me teeshirts’. They held hand-made placards saying ‘protesting Jewish films is so last century’ and ‘Rape supporters off out streets’.
Commuters driving past hooted their horns in support, waved Israeli flags from the window and were greeted with huge cheers.
With tensions high, a heavy police presence soon gave up on trying to direct traffic down the high street and closed it off entirely. Anti-Israel protestors were penned in on the opposite side of the road, several with their faces covered, yelling, whistling and playing music in a vain attempt not to be drowned out.
Buses were left abandoned as the area was cordoned off and what began as an unprecedented show of solidarity soon turned into a street party that continued after the film, filled to its 250 seat capacity, had begun inside the cinema.
Israeli and Iranian flags were flown, Elton John’s classic ‘I’m still standing’ was played on repeat, alongside Elan Golan’s ‘Am Y’Israel Chai’.
At times heated, the protest was largely peaceful apart from when CST and police were forced to intervene to avoid violence from a small number of individuals.
Israeli flag-waving members of the crowd cheered as police eventually escorted the protestors back to the local train station.
The counter-protest has been hailed across social media as a triumph for the Jewish community in fighting hate, prejudice and anti-Semitism.
Organisers Ben Paul and Hannah Lyon-Singer told Jewish News: “Last night was a tour de force from the Jewish community, more than 1000 of us stood together and emphatically told these apologists for terror, rape and murder that they shall not pass! No Jew should ever feel unsafe displaying their Judaism and their love and pride for the state of Israel. We must keep the momentum and stand together again on more counter demos and take back the narrative from those who have manipulated and twisted it to fit their hateful world views.”
Filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh (the latter of whom is Jewish), announced on Thursday evening their withdrawal as patrons of the Phoenix in protest at the cinema’s hosting of the Seret festival.
A fundraising appeal to pay for the damage caused to the now cleared graffiti, has exceeded £10,500 from 448 donors across the community and beyond.
CST took to Twitter/X to call the event a “notable show of community pride, strength and resilience.”
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