Mel Gibson says that he is not an anti-Semite. Even the friendliest observer of his actions must, however, conclude that he has anti-Semitic impulses (among other troubles). His denial of anti-Semitism can be taken in two ways. It might be that his contrition might be staged for public-relations purposes, and that he is a thoroughgoing anti-Semite. Or it might be that he recognizes that he has these impulses, that they are wrong, and that they must be resisted. The latter assumption is plausible as well as charitable.

Gibson’s anti-Semitic outburst is being treated, in some quarters, as the definitive proof that his The Passion of the Christ was anti-Semitic. Critics have suggested that The Passion’s defenders should now eat their words, and even called it a “pogrom movie.”

The supporters of The Passion would indeed have cause for embarrassment if they had defended the movie along the following lines: “Mel Gibson doesn’t have an anti-Semitic bone in his body. The people who are expressing concern that the movie is anti-Semitic are inventing an issue out of nothing, probably because they are opposed to traditionalist Christianity.”

But thoughtful people who rejected the charge of anti-Semitism did not make such arguments. They acknowledged that there were reasons for concern. Gibson’s father was known to be an anti-Semite: a man who believes that Jews want to take over the world and who claims that the Holocaust is, for the “most” part, “fiction.” It cannot be simply assumed that a son shares all or even some of the nasty views of his father. It could be that filial piety moved Gibson not to repudiate views he knew to be wrong. But anyone familiar with his father’s sentiments, and his unwillingness to repudiate them, had to conclude that there was a strong possibility that Gibson is an anti-Semite. Gibson’s own comments about the Holocaust—acknowledging that it happened but seeming to downplay it as a wartime atrocity—increased those concerns.

And given the historical role of passion plays in fomenting anti-Semitism, it was reasonable for people to be concerned about Gibson’s movie.

The defense of the movie against charges of anti-Semitism was not based on the purity of Gibson’s heart; it was based on the movie’s content and on its effects. In the film, some Jewish leaders want Christ killed and some do not. Some are decent and some indecent, as is also true of the Romans. Some followers of Christ betray the Lord—chiefly the men, as in the Gospels. Some, chiefly the women but also John, stay by His side.

The attempts to ferret out instances of anti-Semitism in the movie were almost laughably weak. So, for example, Gibson is held to have depicted Pontius Pilate too sympathetically. It is true that the movie’s Pilate is doubtful and indecisive. But this criticism says more about the modern liberal celebration of doubt than it does about the movie. A man who knows or strongly suspects that he is doing wrong is surely more culpable, not less, than a man who is certain that he is doing right.

Other critics said that Gibson had “recycled classic anti-Semitic tropes”: a stock phrase, that, and one that became a trope of the reviews. What it means is that you or I, when seeing the movie, may not be able to detect any anti-Jewish sentiment in it; that none of us will find ourselves disliking Jews more when we leave than when we entered the theater; but that if we were well-versed in medieval history, we would see that some of its images were reminiscent of anti-Semitic propaganda from centuries ago. If we need the assistance of a scholar to see that the movie is anti-Semitic, how anti-Semitic can it really be?

Nobody who was neutrally disposed toward Jews reported hating them after seeing the movie. For all the talk, before its release, about how it would incite violence against Jews, the actual death toll from the movie was a nice round zero. The people who considered the movie anti-Semitic were all people who are themselves immune to the disease. Maureen Dowd did not profess to find herself hating Jews after watching the movie. It was always the man in the next seat over about whom we were supposed to worry: especially if that man were an evangelical in the hinterland.

Anti-Semitism was not the only charge made against the Passion. It was also said to take too many liberties with Scripture, to scant the story of Jesus’s ministry, and above all to be too violent. (David Denby, reviewing it for the New Yorker, called it “a sickening death trip.”) I do not find these criticisms compelling, and in some cases do not believe they were made in good faith. Reasonable people can certainly disagree, however, with some of Gibson’s dramatic and even theological choices.

What cannot really be defended is the assertion that the movie is anti-Semitic. While the case against Gibson the man has gotten stronger in recent days, the case against the movie hasn’t.

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's supporters blame Jews for her primary defeat yesterday

Despite a landslide loss in Tuesday night's primary runoff against Hank Johnson, the controversy just keeps coming out of the Cynthia McKinney campaign.

First there was a scuffle between McKinney's bodyguards and an 11Alive news photographer, then there were remarks made to a cable network news crew, in which members of McKinney's entourage allegedly made shocking anti-Semitic remarks.

The Anti-Defamation League says they want to hear from McKinney – they want her to disavow the anti-Semetic remarks reported by the network crew, remarks that recall the scandal that cost her the election in 2002.

“We’re seeing some Cynthia McKinney supporters are resorting to anti-Semetic and racist language and again blaming the Jews for her loss in this campaign,” said ADL southeast Associate Director Shelley Rose.

The remarks were allegedly made just moments after McKinney's entourage passed out of earshot of 11Alive cameras, as the congresswoman left her campaign headquarters on Tuesday night.

Someone reportedly said quote, “You wanna know what led to the loss? Israel. The Zionists. You. put on your yarmulke and celebrate."

Rose said, "We're really astonished that in 2006, anti-Semitism once again rears its ugly head.”

11alive.com

Seattle Jews recovering from attack

The Seattle Jewish community is in shock after a shooting spree at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle left one dead and five wounded on Friday.

A man declared, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," before opening fire, according to witnesses. He was soon apprehended by police and later identified as 30-year-old Naveed Afzal Haq, a US citizen of Pakistani origin.

Seattle police said they had directed their officers to closely monitor the city's synagogues and other Jewish institutions following the attack, but that they believed Haq had acted alone.

The Jerusalem Post

"Neither I nor my film are anti-Semitic . . . Nor do I hate anybody - certainly not the Jews. They are my friends and associates."

Mel Gibson
2003

Anti-Semites then and now

Anti-Semitism around the World

Middle Eastern governments often publish anti-Semitic propaganda in their state media, including the long-discredited Protocols of the Elders of Zion. (The Syrian government has run a television serial based on the Protocols.) The president of Iran, Mahmoud Amhadinejad, is a Holocaust denier who wants to wipe Israel off the map. Common anti-Semitic beliefs in the region include the fantasy that Jews committed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and that Jews drink the blood of gentile children.

Anti-Semitism has been rising in western Europe, with the region’s growing Muslim community responsible for much of the increase. Anti-Semitic incidents have included verbal attacks on Jews, vandalism against Jewish institutions, and even assaults and killings.

Eastern Europe has fewer Muslims, but skinheads and political fringe groups traffic in anti-Semitism. In Russia and Belarus, the notion that Jews collectively manipulate the world economy for nefarious ends is widespread.

Gabriel Schoenfeld, the managing editor of Commentary, fears that anti-Semitism has been gaining respectability in the West. His 2003 book The Return of Anti-Semitism examines cultural currents in Europe, the Middle East, and America. During the debates over the Iraq war, it has been all too common for critics to seize on the Jewish backgrounds of some of its advocates. From that point it is short work to accuse these advocates of disloyalty to America and to proclaim the war a Jewish plot.

We tend to think about anti-Semitism as a thing of the past in America. But as Schoenfeld reminds us, there is no reason for complacency.

Ramesh Ponnuru

BBC News reports both supporters and critics of Gibson after his now infamous DUI rant.

Jodie Foster's statements offered understanding, "Mel is honest, loyal, kind, but alcoholism has been a lifelong struggle for him and his family. He took his recovery very seriously, which is why I know he is strong enough to get through this now. I just wish I had been there, that I had been able to say, 'Don't do it, don't take that drink'."

"Jewish movie producer Dean Devlin, who worked with Mr Gibson on the film The Patriot, has also spoken out in defence of the actor."

BBC NEWS

"One does not abruptly decide, between the first and second vodka, or the ticks of the indicator of velocity, that the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion are valid after all."

Christopher Hitchens writing for Slate

Mel Gibson's most important role: father of seven children
The Impact of Alcoholism on Children

Alcoholism is an illness that not only affects the person with the illness but also family members, including children. Educating people about the possible effects on children can help lead to support and guidance being available for these children if needed. This support can help children overcome adversity and reach their full potential. The following are some important facts relevant to alcoholism and its impact on children:

• Alcoholism affects the entire family.
  • Living with an alcoholic can be stressful for all members of the family.
  • Children of alcoholics can be hampered in their ability to grow in healthy ways.
• Many people report being exposed to alcoholism in their families.
  • About 43 percent of the U.S. adult population has been exposed to alcoholism in the family.
  • Almost one in five adult Americans (18%) lived with an alcoholic while growing up.
• There is strong, scientific evidence that alcoholism tends to run in families. Children of alcoholics are at a higher risk for alcoholism and other drug abuse than children of non-alcoholics.
• Alcoholism usually has strong negative effects on marital relationships.
• Alcohol is often associated with human violence. Perpetrators of violent acts are often under the influence of alcohol.
  • Children of alcoholics are more at risk for disruptive behavioral problems, and are more likely to be aggressive and impulsive.
• A relationship between parental alcoholism and child abuse is evident in a large proportion of child abuse cases.
• Children of alcoholics experience greater physical and mental health problems. Their health care costs are 32% higher than children from non-alcoholic families.
  • Childhood injuries are more than one and one-half times greater for children of alcoholics than for children from non-alcoholic families.
• Children of alcoholics typically score lower on tests measuring verbal ability.
• Children of alcoholics often have difficulties in school.
  • They may believe that they will be failures even if they do well academically.
  • They often do not view themselves as successful.
  • They may exhibit poor language and reasoning skills, particularly as compared with those of their peers.
• Children of alcoholics benefit from adult influences that can help them to:
  • Develop a healthy social orientation and social skills.
  • Engage in acts of "required helpfulness" which will increase their self-esteem.
  • Develop a close bond with a caregiver.
  • Perceive their experiences constructively.
  • Develop day-to-day coping strategies

Link: The Impact of Alcoholism on Children

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