Email from Zionist Organization of America   ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA OP-ED         Israel Hayom Op-Ed by ZOA’s Mort Klein: Mel Gibson Can Change His Antisemitic Image As Trump's new Hollywood ambassador, Gibson has chance to revise 'Passion' film's anti-Jewish narratives, following Oberammergau's example. By Morton A. Klein, ZOA National President (January 23, 2025 / Israel Hayom) United States President Donald Trump's appointment of Mel Gibson to be one of three special ambassadors to Hollywood brought the latter's antisemitic history into the limelight again, including Gibson's drunken anti-Jewish rant when a police officer arrested him for drunk driving in 2006 (which he later profusely apologized for); and his ugly alleged "oven dodger" comment to Jewish actress Winona Ryder in 2020. Gibson's most harmful action was directing, financing and co-writing his antisemitic 2004 "Passion of Christ" film – which earned over $600 million and was seen by hundreds of millions of people, fomenting anti-Jewish hatred. Gibson's film libels Jews as responsible for Jesus' torments and death while whitewashing the cruel Roman Governor Pontius Pilate who actually ordered and was responsible for Jesus' crucifixion. The film begins with Judas betraying Jesus for silver coins; portrays Jews and Jewish priests and scribes as violent brutish accusers and tormenters of Jesus; and portrays Pontius Pilate telling Jesus: "Your High Priests have delivered you to me; They want me to have you executed." The film then absurdly shows Pilate exonerating Jesus, but then "giving in" after Jewish priests and crowds demand Jesus' crucifixion. The film also shows a Jewish crowd saying, "His blood be on us and on our children" – a phrase frequently cited as evidence of the Jewish people's collective guilt. The phrase was so incendiary that Gibson was reportedly forced to drop it from the films' subtitles, although it remained in the spoken Aramaic. It's particularly awful that Gibson included this 40 years after the Catholic Church's 1965 Nostra Aetate, which ended the libel of "collective Jewish guilt." In sum, Gibson's film promoted a thoroughly antisemitic narrative, likely to engender hatred and violence against Jews. Unsurprisingly, Al Jazeera reported that Palestinian Authority dictator Mahmoud Abbas was "moved" by the film, and that pirated copies were the best-selling film among the Palestinian Arabs in the "West Bank" (Judea-Samaria). (Abbas incites Arabs to spill Jewish blood and pays terrorists rewards for murdering Jews.) After his drunken anti-Jewish rant in 2006, Gibson released a statement seeking the Jewish community's forgiveness and asking the community to assist helping him learn how he could make amends. Perhaps being appointed an ambassador to Hollywood is that opportunity to make amends - especially now that Gibson is planning what he calls an "acid trip" sequel to Passion of Christ. Simply put, Gibson can change his libelous, antisemitic "Passion" narrative to one that stops falsely blaming the Jews – in both his sequel and by revising the libels in the existing film. Those sorts of changes have been done by others with long histories of purveying such antisemitic libels – most notably, the Oberammergau Passion Play. CONTINUE READING   Share This Email Share This Email   DONATE     Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2025, All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave 31 B | New York, NY 10017 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice