THR: Gibson's Maccabee Movie Latest Twist In Star's Tortured History With Jewish Community

THR:

Mel Gibson‘s decision to make a biopic of the Jewish religious icon Judah Maccabee is the latest twist in the star’s long, tortured history with the Jewish community.

The beginning of the strained relations dates back to the moment Gibson announced in 2002 that he was writing and directing a film about the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life, then titled The Passion. Though Gibson had previously run afoul of the gay and lesbian community when he was accused of making homophobic comments in 1991 and was known to be a staunchly conservative Catholic in his faith, he was a largely uncontroversial figure in Hollywood. But during filming of the Passion in Italy, Jewish leaders began to raise concerns about how the Jewish people would be portrayed in the film. Members of the Anti-Defamation League reached out to Gibson with their concerns, but the star rebuffed them.

In a May 2003 interview with National Catholic Reporter Jesuit Fr. William J. Fulco, who translated the script into Aramaic and Latin, assured the nervous Jewish community, “In no way do I experience it as offensive to Jews or anyone else.”

But as Gibson began to screen the film to selected Catholic and Jewish leaders, accusations of anti-Semitism sounded louder and louder in the media. Unhappy with the film’s tone towards the Jewish people and their culpability in the crucifixion of Jesus, leaders such as New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

Eventually, Twentieth Century Fox passed on picking up the film, now titled The Passion of the Christ and it was distributed by indie company, Newmarket Films.

Full story here.

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