Portland area movie theater at center of antisemitism controversy over marquee advertising 'The Odyssey'

A movie theater outside Portland, Oregon, is facing backlash after it displayed a marquee advertising Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" with a provocative message critics are calling antisemitic.

The Lake Theater and Cafe's marquee read, "Before there were the Jews, there was... The Odyssey."

The marquee sparked outrage in the Jewish community, and critics claimed the message was historically inaccurate, noting that scholars generally place the composition of Homer's epic in the 8th century B.C., while Jewish history and the Israelites predate that period by several centuries. Critics also said it was an unnecessary jab amid rising antisemitism across the country.

The message was reportedly removed from one side of the marquee on July 16 but remained on the other side, OregonLive reported, citing residents who saw the message on July 17. The theater is located Lake Oswego, a city just south of Portland.

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"The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and the Jewish community were deeply offended by the inappropriate wording on the marquee," Jewish Federation of Greater Portland President and CEO Marc Blattner told Fox News Digital. "And despite calls and emails, the theater only responded to the press. His comments literally minimizing antisemitism in our country was shameful."

Rabbi Eve Posen of Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland wrote on Facebook about the marquee and its reflection of a broader issue. She noted that a car belonging to a member of the Jewish community had recently been vandalized with swastikas, writing that this was "not in Germany. Not eighty years ago. Here. Today."

"Over the last twenty-four hours, I have found myself carrying a weight that is difficult to name," Posen wrote. "None of the individual moments, taken on their own, would necessarily warrant a public reflection. We live in a world where people disagree. We debate policy. We challenge history. We confront acts of hatred. But when these moments come one after another, layering upon one another in the span of a single day, they tell a story that is impossible to ignore."

She then went on to criticize the Lake Theater and Cafe's marquee. Like many critics, she said that the message was both historically inaccurate and offensive.

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"The statement is historically false. More importantly, it raises a painful question: why invoke Jews at all? A clever movie promotion could have celebrated one of the oldest stories ever told without unnecessarily positioning Judaism as an afterthought or a comparison," Posen wrote.

"In a moment when antisemitism is already at historic levels, casually inserting Jews into a narrative where we do not belong doesn't feel harmless. It feels like another reminder that our story is somehow expendable, that our history can be rewritten or diminished for the sake of a punchline."

Israeli influencer Hen Mazzig also slammed the theater, calling the marquee "objectively untrue" in a post on X.

"Why is something existing before Jews a selling point? Do they think the story is somehow 'untainted' by Jews?" Mazzig wrote. "What disgustingly blatant antisemitism."

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In a text message, Lake Theater and Cafe manager Jordan Perry told The Lake Oswego Review he was trying to challenge what society considers to be antisemitic.

"My intention is never to influence opinion or fan flames, but to say: it’s okay to raise eyebrows, though I hope my messages reflect a depth of understanding others find in themselves but not always in the world around them," Perry told LOR via text message.

"Through the media I consume, I believe modern-day antisemitism is exaggerated, mostly as a defense for Israel’s actions in the Middle East and its involvement in our politics, and my intention in referencing Jewish people on the marquee was to prod at everything being seemingly antisemitic with a statement that couldn’t possibly be construed as antisemitic."

He said he did not intend to "offend anyone," and he was trying to "push back culturally on what constitutes antisemitism, to signal, in solidarity, that it’s not about ‘the Jews,’ that it’s about Israel, and Palestine, and Lebanon, and Iran, and AIPAC. This is my ‘humor,’ this was the point, intentionally subtle, of what I put on the marquee."

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Local outlets noted that Lake Theater and Cafe had posted edgy messages on its marquee in the past, some of which got it in hot water.

When the documentary "Melania" came out about first lady Melania Trump, the theater posted marquees that included, "Does Melania wear Prada? Find out Friday!" a reference to the film "The Devil Wears Prada." The other marquee read, "To defeat your enemy. You must know them. Melania."

The theater claimed in an Instagram post that Amazon was upset by the marquees and, as a result, would no longer show the film.

"Got a call that the higher ups (i.e., at Amazon) were upset with how our marquee marketed their movie (i.e., Melania), that, per them, Sunday would be its last day here. Also got, before then, countless emails and voicemails and Google / Yelp reviews (Google / Yelp took them down) wondering why the hell we had Melania here, or disdaining our disparaging of her. Now that it's prematurely over, the plug pulled on us not from public outcry (always listening, thank you) but by some corporate executive (fair enough, sorry AMZN, please don't cancel my Prime), Jordan figured he'd ...say something? Link in bio. TLDR: welp," the theater's caption read.

The post included a photo of the theater's marquee, which read, "Amazon called. Our marquee made them mad. All Melania shows canceled. Show your support at Whole Foods instead."

Fox News Digital reached out to Lake Theater and Café for comment.