There is absolutely no evidence that crosses of any kind were built by Jews in the Temple.’ This is a total reversal of the historical reality of Judea under Roman rule.’ The scholars group remarked that ‘in the time of Jesus, Romans crucified those Jews they suspected of sedition routinely…. Pilate even states he fears Caiaphas is plotting a revolt. Yet the script shows him bullying Pontius Pilate with an amazing control of the Jewish mob.
For instance, it ‘fundamentally misconceives the relationship between the prefect, Pontius Pilate, and the Temple authorities led by Caiaphas. “The scholars also agreed that the script contained significant historical errors. The mob is plainly identified as representing the Jewish people as a whole, portraying them as such as “bloodthirsty,” “frenzied,” and “predatory”…Jewish figures are particularly associated with evil uses of money.’ A Jewish mob is shown in ever-increasing size and ferocity. It assessed that ‘the Temple-and by extension Judaism-is presented as a locus of evil…. “The study group concluded that a film based on the script they had been shown would promote anti-Semitic sentiments. bishops on developments in Catholic-Jewish relations. The Catholic panelists were all members of an appointed advisory committee that offers advice to the U.S. Eugene Korn, then of the ADL, jointly put together a nine-person panel. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Rabbi Dr. “Father Pawlikowski suggested that a joint committee of Catholics and Jews be set up to analyze the script of The Passion. Father Pawlikowski told us that one of his interfaith contacts had obtained a copy of Gibson’s script from someone who worked on the movie and was very disturbed by it.” “Then we received a call from Father John Pawlikowski, a Catholic priest from Chicago active for many years in interfaith dialogue and very instrumental in Catholic-Jewish relations. The ADL did nothing further publicly because often issues recede by themselves. We never heard from him to set up such a meeting. He considered our letter very respectful and said Gibson would like to meet us. He mentioned that he was Jewish and supported Jewish causes. “After we sent the letter, we received a call from Gibson’s agent, Alan Nierob. This was not a fight of our own choosing. We understood that Mel Gibson was a Hollywood icon and that it would be best to avoid a public confrontation if possible. Our first approach should not necessarily be a public one, and it was not in this case. I strongly believe that after the Shoah, Jews no longer have the luxury to remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism, even if some media and other people say that we should. “In this specific case, people have accused us of reacting to Gibson’s movie because we needed the publicity. This document repudiates the deicide charge against all Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus.”įoxman says the question of when to go public with an issue is often very delicate for the ADL. “It is well known that Gibson belongs to a traditionalist right-wing Catholic sect that rejects Vatican II reforms, including the Nostra Aetate statement. Given your talent and celebrity, how you depict the death of Jesus will have widespread influence on people’s ideas, attitudes, and behavior toward Jews today.’ 1 “The letter went on to note that ‘Passion plays have an infamous history of leading to hatred, violence, and even the death of Jews. We said we wanted to be assured that his film ‘will not give rise to the old canard of charging Jews with deicide, and to anti-Semitism.’ “We did not react publicly but decided that we should reach out to Gibson, and we wrote him a letter on 24 March 2003. After that interview, he relates, many people contacted the ADL. Foxman is the national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the United States. This may harm the image of Jews among Christians.Ībraham H. The movie is likely to be shown in Christian circles for a long time to come.Throughout it, Gibson cast the Jews in a very negative light. When the film was released, it turned out to be a major commercial success.Despite a number of direct and indirect approaches, Gibson avoided contact with the ADL. There were increasing indications that the movie was going to depict the Jews in a highly negative way.The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) decided to reach out privately to Gibson for assurance that this film would not lead to charging Jews with deicide and to anti-Semitism. In January 2003, Mel Gibson announced that he intended to make a film that would tell the whole gospel truth about Jesus’ crucifixion.
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