A film series at the Ames Public Library will continue to run despite objections from community members about the possibility of an anti-Semitic reaction.

Pnina Luban, 2801 Torrey Pines Rd., a member of the Ames Jewish Congregation, said she thinks the film series might spike a rise in anti-Semitism in Ames.

“[The series] may cause many Jews to feel hurt,” she said. “I think there might even be more anti-Semitic views in Ames.”

Luban, who has gone to all of the films except one, said the films are full of distortion and misinformation that may shed a misleading light on Israel.

“I thought it was entirely inappropriate for the library to sponsor the series,” she said. “If they wanted to present dialogue and discussion they should have presented both sides of the issue at one time, and then let the public make a decision.”

Palestine Unabridged, a film series sponsored by the Ames Interfaith Council, Arab Student Association and the Axiom Foundation, is in its sixth week of showing films about Palestine at the Ames Public Library and hosting discussions the week after. The series has had a large turnout — 40 people on average weekly and more than 160 on opening day.

Lynne Carey, head of adult programming for the Ames Public Library, said the film series has had some disapproval from members of the community despite the large turnout.

Carey said the library has continued to hear concerns about the Palestine film series.

“We haven’t considered pulling the program despite the concerns,” Carey said.

She said the concerns have created open discussions to the library board about censorship and the freedom of expression.

John Pleasants, lecturer in ecology, evolution and organismal biology, and a cantor at the Ames Jewish Congregation, said there are many members of the Ames Jewish Congregation who are upset about the series running at the Ames Public Library.

“It’s the excessive number of films in the series — it’s hard to have a balanced view,” Pleasants said.

Luban said she believes it is too excessive to have a film series that lasts for more than a three-month period.

“I wish the library would have thought more about running this series,” Pleasants said.

Despite concerns about the series, the library has seen a large turnout and hosted many heated discussions about the films and the conflict.

“We have totally revamped the way we run our discussions due to the increased turnout,” Carey said.

Carey said the library originally planned for the discussions to be less structured, but due to the large turnout, they had to bring people in to guide them.

Stephen Aigner, associate professor of sociology, and Sarai Beck, 1808 Ferndale Ave., have been guiding the discussions the week after the film has been shown.

Aigner said the discussions usually last two hours and are held at either Caf‚ Diem, 323 Main St., or Lucullan’s Italian Grill, 400 Main St., and have a large turnout. Small groups of two people discuss their feelings about the movie, and then an overall topic is voted on and the entire group can interject on the given topic.

Despite the facilitation of the discussions, Aigner said things can become heated.

“About 25 percent of the discussion groups have had some contention in it,” Aigner said.

“On the other hand, three-quarters of the groups have been amiable.”

Carey said a lot of people who come to the films and the discussions are happy they can talk about the conflict beyond a superficial level.

“We haven’t had to ask anyone to leave, but there have been some heated discussions,” Carey said. “We have a good mix of people attending … Most come with an open mind and an open heart,” she said.

Aigner said the people who attended the discussion groups are willing to learn about the conflict in the Middle East.

“We’ve had more than 100 people show up at the forums and that indicates to me that people are willing to learn more,” he said.

People are willing to discuss with topic without pointing fingers, he said.

“I’ve had people come up to me and say that this series is the most important event they have been to since they have lived in Ames.”