Moral collapse in Hamilton on full display as film festival cancelled

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I am a proud, lifelong Hamiltonian with strong roots in our great city. My grandparents immigrated here in the 1950s and my family has been deeply committed to strengthening our city for decades.

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From a young age, I was taught the importance of community building, one which is not tolerant of hate. But what we have seen this week is an issue that has been fuelled by growing inaction. And the time to act with unequal moral leadership awaits.

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The cancellation of the Jewish Film Festival in Hamilton is not just a cancellation of a cultural event. This is a cancellation of the Jewish people — a targeted campaign of harassment and intimidation met with irresponsible silence by our elected representatives and other equity groups.

It is the total collapse of the moral norms and values that are meant to protect our diverse and free society.

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The Playhouse Cinema has a long and proud history of supporting independent film and has allowed many diverse voices to be heard. We know that anti-Semitic groups are organized, well-funded and have a mission to silence Jewish voices. It is understandable that a small, independent theatre would feel threatened by the anti-Semitic attacks on the Jewish Film Festival — especially when most of our elected officials have given them little to no support.

By their silence, our elected representatives appear to support hatred instead of championing diversity, equity and compassion for all. Such a refusal to speak up immediately and firmly against the theatre’s decision should be buried in the history books — not surfacing now in Canada.

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Giving in to the intimidation and hate from anti-democratic voices in our community is not a reasonable response — it is a full capitulation. It empowers and emboldens those who want to destroy our society and will guarantee future attacks on the Jewish community.

Many elected officials in our city have worked to establish themselves as champions for worker rights, equality and inclusion. Yet in 2024, it appears that their concerns for diversity and inclusion no longer include the Jewish community. However, worse than that, it violates their responsibilities as democratically elected officials to represent every Canadian and Hamilton resident regardless of race, religion or creed.

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The Jewish Film Festival is a cultural event — one of many that can be found in our vibrant and multicultural city. It is meant to celebrate the work of Jewish artists and tell the stories of members of Hamilton’s Jewish community. Sadly, some of these stories include horrific experiences that are tied to the current war in the Middle East — not to push an agenda, but because these events are part of the Jewish experience.

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In Canada, we claim to welcome communities celebrating their cultural heritage and tell their unique stories.

We believe that we live in a country where the cancellation of any specific ethnic or religious community would be met with outrage and serious concerns about racism, fascism or lack of inclusion. Allowing the voice of hatred to dominate shows that we have let those standards slip.

The cancellation of any other cultural film festival would not be tolerated — and rightly so. We should be proud of that. But one community should never be targeted for cancellation and one single independent business should not be expected to stand alone in the face of hatred.

We should all stand up to support our fellow Hamiltonians through difficult times. Our elected representatives and other community champions should speak up and make it clear that hatred of any kind will never be tolerated in Hamilton.

Mancinelli is the director of public relations, communications, marketing and strategic partnerships with LIUNA.

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