Petition to the Alamo Drafthouse to stop screening Zionist propaganda, “September 5”
On January 2nd, 2025, the Alamo Drafthouse in Downtown Brooklyn will begin screening the Zionist propaganda film September 5. Originally, Alamo was only doing a one-off private screening on November 22nd, 2024. Outraged employees were assured by management that there would be no further screenings. Last minute, it was quietly added to our schedule. Sony-owned Alamo would rather make a quick buck off the plight of Palestinians than listen to their workers, urging them to “Give a Shit” about anything besides the size of their coffers.
The film is an ahistorical and dehumanizing dramatization of Operation Iqrit and Biram, undertaken by the Black September Organization at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the name of the liberation of 200+ Palestinian prisoners. It is told from the perspective of the ABC news room, with a callous group of sports journalists eager to cover the unfolding events while not hesitating to call the militants “terrorists” and “A-rabs.” The operation came a mere five years after the Six Day War, a conflict that resulted in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Syrian Golan Heights, and nearly 25 years after the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948, the Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe.” The aftermath of the Munich operation was the wanton assassination of Palestinian activists throughout Europe and the Levant, some of whom had nothing to do with the planning of the operation. Echoing the well-worn pattern seen since 9/11, September 5 is yet another attempt by the Western media to push its imperialist and racist agenda, manufacturing consent for the continued genocide and cultural decimation of Palestine and its peoples. It is quintessential Orientalism: Depicting Arabs and brown people as evil, antisemitic terrorists, while lionizing the very newsrooms that provide political cover and, in many cases, cheer for endless wars and genocide. We’re certain that Alamo’s quirky pre-show won’t provide this context.
Now we are expected to serve food and drink while audiences relive the bloodletting of 1972, and as Palestinians face constant bombardment, starvation, and sexual violence at the hands of the Israeli army in 2025.
We, NYC Alamo United, wholeheartedly condemn the Alamo’s willingness to profit off of the genocide of Palestine.
We call on all Alamo guests, community members and organizations of conscience to sign onto our petition. Join us in condemning the Alamo Drafthouse’s complicity in the distribution of regressive media and demand that they immediately stop platforming film and media industry companies that spread genocidal rhetoric. The petition and its signatures will be presented by the NYC Alamo United bargaining committee to management at our January bargaining session.
