Jan 22, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Two members of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) renewed their concerns about Mel Gibson’s film on the last hours of the life of Christ after slipping into a screening uninvited at a religious conference in Orlando, Fl., yesterday.
The ADL issued a statement yesterday that the film risks promoting anti-Semitism through its "painful portrayal of Jews" as being responsible for the death of Jesus. Their statement follows the recent controversies surrounding the Pope’s remark – “It is as it was” – that the film is an accurate portrayal of the events in the last hours of Christ’s life.
ADL national director Abraham H. Foxman attended the Florida screening with Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, the ADL interfaith consultant.
“At every single opportunity, Gibson's film reinforces the notion that the Jewish authorities and the Jewish mob are the ones ultimately responsible for the Crucifixion,” said the statement.