‘Passion’ and Hate
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Of all the foolish notions swirling around Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion,”one of the most foolish is the idea that the film is unlikely to incite anti-Semitism here in America. Sure, this argument goes, the film might rile up the anti-Semites in France or Germany or the Middle East. But here in America, this argument goes — or so we have heard it from some of our friends on the right — the very devout Christians who are most likely to see the movie are likely to be philo-Semites, devoted supporters of Israel.
This argument has a certain patriotic and optimistic charm, but, alas, it’s not congruent with the facts.
Consider the reaction that Rabbi Avi Weiss of Riverdale, the Bronx, got when he mounted a relatively restrained protest of the movie. Said one e-mail: “you filthy kike! Too bad there wasn’t a REAL holocaust and 6 million more of you socioparasites were gassed! You …deserve whatever comes to you in way of punishment for your crimes against humanity and Christians!…Go hang yourself like Judas!”
Said another: “You dont scare me, jew! So stop the intimidation on the WHITE race!”
The Anti-Defamation League, too, reports, “Since going public with our concerns about the film, ADL and other Jewish organizations have been flooded with hate-filled e-mails, letters and phone calls.” The ADL reports that extremist hate groups and individuals including the Aryan Nations, based in Idaho, and James Wickstrom, based in Michigan, are excited about the film and are using it to promote their anti-Semitic messages.
As for the claim that the ADL and Rabbi Weiss’s Coalition for Jewish Concerns have brought this upon themselves by objecting to the movie, it’s a ridiculous charge, as blaming the Jews for anti-Semitism always is.
Not by any means is everyone, or even most, who see “The Passion” or who likes it is an anti-Semite. But the threat of these extremist groups and individuals tends to be underestimated until a synagogues is burned down or marked with swastikas, or the Oklahoma City federal building is bombed. America is not France and not Saudi Arabia. But we have our anti-Semites here, too.
