The Passion and the Fury
The New American: "Some of the most spirited defenses of Gibson have come from Jews who see many of his accusers wielding the charges of anti-Semitism for ulterior purposes. Syndicated columnist Don Feder, an Orthodox Jew, has jumped four-square into the fray. 'As a Jew, I take anti-Semitism very seriously,' says Feder. But he does not believe Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite or that The Passion qualifies as Nazi propaganda. One of his recent columns on the subject ran under the title: 'More Power to Mel Gibson: The Passion Is an Act of Faith, Not Bigotry.'
'Jesus isn't part of my religion,' Feder explained. 'With all due respect to my Christian friends -- who are legion -- I do not believe that Jesus was God incarnate. (In the words of The Shema, I believe God is One.) I respect those who believe otherwise, as I hope they respect beliefs of mine with which they disagree.' But with all of the 'raw sewage being pumped out' of Hollywood, he noted 'it's ironic that some have chosen to attack a film that dramatizes sacrifice and redemption.' Far from condemning Gibson, Feder is cheering: 'More power to Mel, say I. It�s rare to see a man with such power and influence willing to stand up for his faith in the face of a hostile culture.'
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an Orthodox rabbi and popular radio talk-show host, has also repeatedly defended Gibson and The Passion. Rabbi Lapin points out that it is not Gibson�s movie, but the irresponsible and vehement accusations coming from Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League and other self-appointed Jewish leaders that are most likely to cause anti-Semitism.
"From audiences around America, I am encountering bitterness at Jewish organizations insisting that belief in the New Testament is de facto evidence of anti-Semitism," Rabbi Lapin says. "Christians heard Jewish leaders denouncing Gibson for making a movie that follows Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion long before any of them had even seen the movie. Furthermore, Christians are hurt that Jewish groups are presuming to teach them what Christian Scripture ‘really means.’"
But so-called Catholics and Protestants are also presuming to reinterpret, rewrite or even defame the Gospels. Take James Carroll, for example, whom Don Feder pungently describes as "one of those ‘Catholic scholars’ whose stock in trade is denying the essence of Catholicism." Writing in The Boston Globe, Mr. Carroll claimed that "Even a faithful repetition of the Gospel stories of the death of Jesus can do damage exactly because those sacred texts themselves carry the virus of Jew-hatred." If this is true, observed Mr. Feder, it certainly "raises an intriguing question: How can a text both be sacred and carry the seeds of anti-Semitism?"
'Jesus isn't part of my religion,' Feder explained. 'With all due respect to my Christian friends -- who are legion -- I do not believe that Jesus was God incarnate. (In the words of The Shema, I believe God is One.) I respect those who believe otherwise, as I hope they respect beliefs of mine with which they disagree.' But with all of the 'raw sewage being pumped out' of Hollywood, he noted 'it's ironic that some have chosen to attack a film that dramatizes sacrifice and redemption.' Far from condemning Gibson, Feder is cheering: 'More power to Mel, say I. It�s rare to see a man with such power and influence willing to stand up for his faith in the face of a hostile culture.'
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an Orthodox rabbi and popular radio talk-show host, has also repeatedly defended Gibson and The Passion. Rabbi Lapin points out that it is not Gibson�s movie, but the irresponsible and vehement accusations coming from Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League and other self-appointed Jewish leaders that are most likely to cause anti-Semitism.
"From audiences around America, I am encountering bitterness at Jewish organizations insisting that belief in the New Testament is de facto evidence of anti-Semitism," Rabbi Lapin says. "Christians heard Jewish leaders denouncing Gibson for making a movie that follows Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion long before any of them had even seen the movie. Furthermore, Christians are hurt that Jewish groups are presuming to teach them what Christian Scripture ‘really means.’"
But so-called Catholics and Protestants are also presuming to reinterpret, rewrite or even defame the Gospels. Take James Carroll, for example, whom Don Feder pungently describes as "one of those ‘Catholic scholars’ whose stock in trade is denying the essence of Catholicism." Writing in The Boston Globe, Mr. Carroll claimed that "Even a faithful repetition of the Gospel stories of the death of Jesus can do damage exactly because those sacred texts themselves carry the virus of Jew-hatred." If this is true, observed Mr. Feder, it certainly "raises an intriguing question: How can a text both be sacred and carry the seeds of anti-Semitism?"
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