A movie theatre in Lake Oswego, Oregon, just south of Portland, has drawn criticism after its marquee promoting Christopher Nolan's film "The Odyssey" read, "Before there were the Jews, there was… The Odyssey." Jewish community members and other critics called the message antisemitic and historically inaccurate, noting that Homer's epic is generally dated to the 8th century BC, well after the emergence of Jewish history and the Israelites. The controversy comes amid what critics describe as a broader rise in antisemitic incidents across the country.

The Lake Theater and Cafe reportedly removed the message from one side of its marquee on 16 July, though it remained visible on the other side as of 17 July, according to local news outlet OregonLive. Rabbi Eve Posen of Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland linked the incident to a wider pattern of concern, citing a separate case in which a Jewish community member's car was recently vandalised with swastikas, and describing the current climate in stark terms.