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.ISRAEL, JEWS TARGETED WORLDWIDE AS WELL-FUNDED LEFTIST, ISLAMIST GROUPS JOIN FOR ‘NAKBA 78’ PROTESTS"The Odyssey" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square on July 14, 2026, in New York, N.Y.
(Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)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 m...