The National Post reports in its Thursday, March 21, edition that a movie theatre in Hamilton is refusing to host an upcoming Jewish film festival, citing "security and safety concerns at this particularly sensitive moment." The Post's Ari Blaff writes that the Playhouse Cinema was slated to host the Hamilton Jewish Film Festival (HJFF) from April 7 to April 9, which included six films produced in France, Poland and Israel aimed at representing "the contemporary Jewish experience," according to a news release issued by the Hamilton Jewish Federation, which organizes the annual festival. The movies touched upon diverse topics from Holocaust denial to an Arab-owned hair salon in Haifa, and included a commemorative screening of a film by director Yahav Winner, who was murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7 while protecting his wife and newborn daughter at a kibbutz in Israel. Growing backlash led the theatre to reach "a difficult decision," the company said in its statement released Tuesday night. It said, "After receiving numerous security and safety related e-mails, phone calls, and social media messages, the Playhouse Cinema reached a difficult decision to postpone the Hamilton Jewish Federations' venue rental."