 |
|
|
The content and the accuracy of web sites and articles quoted and/or referred to on our pages are the responsibility of their respective authors. By including them here, Good News for Israel does not indicate agreement with any particular point of view nor do we validate any facts presented.
Our purpose is to promote iniformed dialog by providing articles and web links that present some of the viewpoints.
It is for the visitor to decide their validity for himself or herself. |
Where applicable,
© copyright 2003
Good News for Israel,
6408 Minnetonka Blvd
St Louis Park, MN 55426
Phone: (952) 926-7369, E-mail: gnfi@gnfi.org
or Contact Webmaster |
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this web site is archived here under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in the site’s information for personal and/or for non-profit research & educational purposes.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 I asked Foxman if he believed that Gibson was an anti-Semite. “Per se, I don't think that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic,” Foxman said. “I think that he is insensitive.”
But what of “The Passion of the Christ” itself, I asked. Is the film anti-Semitic? “The film, per se, is not anti-Semitic,” Foxman said. The problem, he added, was that, as with any literal reading of the New Testament, its message of love could be twisted into something hateful. “The film can fuel, trigger, stimulate, induce, rationalize, legitimize anti-Semitism,” Foxman said.
“You know, the Gospels, if taken literally, can be very damaging, in the same way if you take the Old Testament literally,” Foxman went on. “It says, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' Now, has the Jewish state, or have Jews, practiced the Old Testament by taking an eye for an eye? No. So a literal reading of almost anything can lead to all kinds of things.”
Quoted from, The Jesus War, by Peter J. Boyer.
|
|
|
Does anti-Semitism based on orthodox Christian interpretation of the gospels still exist?
Yes. Not only does rabidly irrational anti-Semitism continue to exist, but it has acquired a new, politically correct label - anti-Zionism.
Here’s proof. In one of the letters, from July 17, 2001, Greek Orthodox Patriarch for “Jerusalem and Palestine” nominee Irineos wrote,
"You [Arafat] are aware of the sentiments of disgust and disrespect that all the Holy Sepulcher fathers feel for the descendants of the crucifiers of our Lord... actual crucifiers of your people, Sionists [sic] Jewish conquerors of the Holy Land of Palestine..."
Irineos asks Arafat to support him in his quest to become Patriarch, promising that if he is elected, "rest assured, Mr. President, that the rights of our most beloved Palestinian people on the Holy City of Jerusalem will find the most 'hot' supporter."
Go to the whole article including exact copies of the source documents.
|
|
|
Relevant Articles:
A survey showing increasing anti-Jewish sentiment in Great Britain shows that 18% of Britons harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, and that fully one in seven Britons believe the scale of the Holocaust has been exaggerated.
BACKGROUND TO A DILEMMA
Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Introduction: Interfaith Cooperation
Not too many decades ago, the Jews were branded as Christ-killers—as deicides. Judaism was caricatured as a fossilized religion, and Jewish-Christian dialogue was virtually unknown. This has changed dramatically. Many Christians have always repudiated anti-Jewish stereotypes. Certainly, we can all learn a lesson in courage and sacrifice from righteous men and women like Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was martyred by the Nazis during World War II for trying to save Jews from Hitler’s “Final Solution.” And who among us is not inspired by such shining examples of courage and faith as Sister Alfonsja (Eugenia Wasowska), who at the age of 19 in 1939 became director of a Catholic orphanage in Przemysl, Poland, and then secretly sheltered 13 Jewish children until the end of the war?
Becoming Rational About Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ,
by Christopher J. Patton (the webmaster)
Many in the Jewish community are legitimately concerned about the possible social consequences that might be inspired by Mel Gibson’s new movie, The Passion of the Christ. History is on their side. In fact Christians would do well to reflect a little on the history of religious warfare and persecution between themselves over issues of passionate faith. A little mutual understanding might go a long way on this topic.
(CNSNews.com) - A conservative Jewish leader has blasted the Anti-Defamation League for the group's alleged "hysterical rantings" over the upcoming Mel Gibson-produced movie, The Passion of the Christ.
Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Lapin, president of the Seattle-based Jewish group Toward Tradition, said the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) panel discussion last week criticizing The Passion of the Christ might end up jeopardizing relations between Jews and Christians.
Gibson: I was 'spiritually bankrupt',
'Passion' producer opens up as film generates unprecedented buzz
January 31, 2004, WorldNetDaily.com
Amid accusations of anti-Semitism against him and his father, Noonan asked Gibson to state on the record whether he believed the Holocaust happened, the New York Post reported. "I have friends and parents of friends who have numbers on their arms," he said. "The guy who taught me Spanish was a Holocaust survivor. He worked in a concentration camp in France. Yes, of course. Atrocities happened.
PARIS (Reuters) - It's hard to imagine a movie provoking such contrasting reactions among Jews and Christians as Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," the story of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ.
It sounds like they're watching two different films -- and, in a way, they are. As Gibson gives one pre-release showing after another to selected religious audiences, a "pro and contra" pattern is clearly emerging in their comments.
|
|
|
Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern is Jewish, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a resident of Bucharest, Romania, where she fields the occasional anti-Semitic remark. Which is why European reporters raised eyebrows when they learned the imposing actress was playing the Virgin Mary in Mel Gibson’s controversial "The Passion," about Jesus’ final hours.
Critics have denounced the hyper-realistic drama as a modern version of the medieval passion play, blaming Jews for the death of Jesus. But Morgenstern, 41, doesn’t view the film as anti-Semitic. Yes, the villain is the Jewish high priest, Caiaphas, she said from her Bucharest home. But he clearly represents the regime, not the Jewish people. "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas," she said.
The Left's Anti-Semitic Chic,
By George Will, 2/25/2004
It used to be said that anti-Catholicism was the anti-Semitism of the intellectuals. Today anti-Semitism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectuals. Not all intellectuals, of course. And the seepage of this ancient poison into the intelligentsia — always so militantly modern — is much more pronounced in Europe than here. But as anti-Semitism migrates across the political spectrum from right to left, it infects the intelligentsia, which has leaned left for two centuries.
Mel Gibson Agrees to Change 'Passion' Film to Combat Anti-Semitism
By Mike Evans, © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com, January 29, 2004
Mel Gibson is Closing Jewish Hearts to Jesus
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, February 9, 2004, WorldNetDaily.com
I am an orthodox Jew who harbors a profound admiration for Christianity, in general, and evangelical Christians, in particular. I would go so far as to say that while I do not, of course, embrace all elements of the evangelical agenda, and indeed harbor some profound and serious disagreements, I believe that evangelical Christians constitute one of the most potent and profound forces for good in all of America today.
Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ': Most offensive film ever made
By Elizabeth Farah, August 27, 2003
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Critics, disingenuous or ill-informed, believe that because the Gospel's account of the events leading to Jesus' crucifixion, portray Jewish religious leaders and Jewish mobs as actively involved in Jesus' sentencing and execution, is, anti-Semitic!
Let's see how silly this gets with a little illumination. Jesus, the condemned victim of torture and injustice is ... Jewish. His mom, the virgin, the blessed among women, is ... Jewish. Peter ... is Jewish. Simon, the man who sacrificially and with utterly inspiring abandon, carries the cross for Christ at the expense of pain and suffering, is ... Jewish. Jesus' brother James, the "Marys" who discover Jesus' empty tomb and Joseph of Aramathia – the rich man who offered his pristine sepulcher as Jesus' burial tomb – were all ... Jewish! The religious leaders who argued in opposition to the Jewish religious leaders instigating for Christ's execution were ... Jewish! Matthew, Mark, John, and Paul were all ... Jewish. Could I go on? Of course! Almost endlessly.
|
|
|
|
The Passion and the Fury, by William F. Jasper, 3/22/2004
Why has a reverent movie about Jesus Christ become one of the most controversial films in history?
Anyone who has not been hermetically sealed in a cave must be aware that one of the major charges leveled against Gibson by his detractors is that his film is venomously anti-Semitic. "Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II," declared New York Daily News film critic Jami Bernard.
Nazi propaganda? It’s pretty hard to condemn a film in terms more serious than that. Ms. Bernard continues the assault, charging that "The Passion feels like a propaganda tool rather than entertainment for a general audience." "Is it anti-Semitic?" she asks. Her answer: "Yes. Jews are vilified, in ways both little and big, pretty much nonstop for two hours, seven minutes."
[A good summary of the various controversies to date.]
'The Passion of the Christ': 2 films in 1
Dennis Prager, October 28, 2003
© 2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Early this past summer, Mel Gibson invited me to see "The Passion," his film on the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The invitation was significant in that I was the first practicing Jew and active member of the American Jewish community to be invited. He did so because he believed, correctly, that he could trust me. I have long worked to build trust between Jews and Christians, especially traditional Christians.
The increasing tension over this film has reinforced impressions I offered Mel Gibson that day. When watching "The Passion," recently renamed "The Passion of the Christ," Jews and Christians are watching two entirely different films.
‘Passion’ and Intrigue
By Peggy Noonan, January 22, 2004
The truth matters. What a pope says matters. And what this pontiff says about this film matters. "The Passion," which is to open on Feb. 25, has been the focus of an intense critical onslaught since last summer. The film has been fiercely denounced as anti-Semitic, and accused of perpetuating stereotypes that will fan hatred against Jews. John Paul II has a long personal and professional history of opposing anti-Semitism, of working against it, and of calling for dialogue, respect and reconciliation between all religions. His comments here would have great importance.
Finally, it is important what the Holy Father said because no piece of work that is destructive and cruel--and what is more destructive and cruel than anti-Semitism?--should be helped by anyone, including and especially the greatest religious leader of our time.
"Passion": A Step Back for Jews and Christians
By Rabbi Michael Lerner
Mel Gibson unlocked the secret of why Americans have never confronted anti-Semitism in the way that we did with the other great systems of hatred (racism, sexism, homophobia) when he told a national t.v. audience on February 16 that "the Jews' real complaint isn't with my film (The Passion) but with the Gospels." Few Christians today know the history of anti-Semitism and the way that the Passion stories were central to rekindling hatred of Jews from generation to generation. Many are embracing Gibson's movie and not understanding why Jews seem to be so threatened.
PASSIONATE THOUGHTS
By William F. Buckley, 1/28/2004
Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, comments, as reported by The Christian Science Monitor, that "a tremendous number of Jews never turned against Jesus during Holy Week," and records that "the Gospel use of the phrase 'the Jews' referred to Jesus' Jewish opponents, not all Jews. It was a common construction of writing of the time."
Protesting Gibson's Passion Lacks Moral Legitimacy
By Rabbi Daniel Lapin, September 22, 2003
President, Toward Tradition
Never has a film aroused such hostile passion so long prior to its release as has Mel Gibson's Passion. Many American Jews are alarmed by reports of what they view as potentially anti-Semitic content in this movie about the death of Jesus, which is due to be released during 2004.
As an Orthodox rabbi with a wary eye on Jewish history which has an ominous habit of repeating itself, I fear that these protests, well intentioned though some may be, are a mistake. I believe those who publicly protest Mel Gibson's film lack moral legitimacy. What is more, I believe their actions are not only wrong but even recklessly ill-advised and shockingly imprudent. I address myself to all my fellow Jews when I say that your interests are not being served by many of those organizations and self appointed defenders who claim to be acting on your behalf. Just ask yourself who most jeopardizes Jewish safety today, Moslems or Christians?
|
|
|
The Quiet Holocaust
The Perfidious Plot to Convert Jews
By Meira Bat Avraham
The attempts to erode Judaism through the missionary work described above is perhaps the most dangerous form of anti-Semitism present in the United States today. Nothing is more necessary at this time, within our community, than to fight this movement. Nothing is more important to the preservation of our community than to protect our more vulnerable members from uneducated acceptance of Christian principles which are so contrary to our own knowledge of G-d and our reason for being on this earth. Defense of Judaism requires that we all unite to combat the missionizing practices and reach out to those who have already succumbed, thereby ensuring our future as promised by G-d.
Real Anti-Semitism
By Joseph Farah, July 24, 2003
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Why is it that some Jewish leaders in the United States seem to be more concerned about non-existent anti-Semitism in Mel Gibson's new movie than the very real anti-Semitism expressed by the so-called "moderate" prime minister of the Palestinian Authority?
Why is the ADL promoting panic within the U.S. Jewish community over art that has been universally praised by those who have actually seen it – including me. And, more importantly, why is the ADL actually defending the phony peace process in the Middle East – a partnership with unrepentant Jew-haters like Abbas?
This is the true reason for anti-Semitism. The Jew, even the atheist Jew, is a witness to the presence of a living, moral G-d in the universe. A Jew walking down Park Avenue is a breathing miracle. All miracles in the Bible, pale in comparison to the miracle of Jewish survival. A Jew, who has survived destructions, exiles, pogroms, inquisitions, Holocausts, and endless wars, is the greatest living proof that there is a G-d in this world; that history is a moral narrative. The Jew, by his or her very existence, reminds six billion people that this world is not a jungle, and that we are all going to have to answer for ourselves and for our actions, after our proverbial sojourn here on earth.
Who Killed Jesus? Setting the Record Straight,
By Charles Colson, February 12, 2004
The cover of the latest Newsweek magazine asks the right question: “Who killed Jesus?” This has been a raging debate for a year, since Mel Gibson started his remarkable film project The Passion of the Christ.
Now, Jews have a legitimate concern about this. During the Middle Ages, Christians treated Jews terribly. In Russia there were pogroms against the Jews. And of course some of the maniacs around Hitler professed that they were killing Jews to purify the Christian race.
|
This page has a number of articles from different sources that define and discuss anti-Semitism from several perspectives as well as listing links to other resources. |
|
|
Links to relevant sites to better understand anti-Semitism
The Jewish Defense League is the most controversial, yet the most effective, of all Jewish organizations. Through its website and chapters, the JDL is firmly committed to its motto, "Never Again," by words, deeds and actions.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action. The Center confronts important contemporary issues including racism, antisemitism, terrorism and genocide and is accredited as an NGO at the United Nations.
|
|
|
Links to some sites usually considered to be anti-Semitic
Nation of Islam
Minister Louis Farrakhan: In His Own Words
The National Alliance
Zionism is Racism
|
|
Click on the line to go to the top of the page.
|
|
[Home] [Articles] [FAQ] [Main Issues] [Anti-Semitism] [Roman Catholicism] [Mel Gibson] [New Testament] [Politics & The People of God] [Warrior Jesus] [Overview] [Analysis-Reviews]
|
|
|
