[missyme]

A BIT MORE:
When the news of Gibson’s interest in Howard Fast’s novel was picked up in the media, Foxman reportedly told Fast’s widow he would “feel more comfortable putting it in the hands of Mr. [Harvey] Weinstein than Mr. Gibson.” The irony is delicious.

Weinstein is the Hollywood producer who co-founded Miramax and made X-rated art movies like "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" and "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" as well as, more recently, "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2." If Harvey Weinstein and motion pictures had been around in 167 B.C.E., Weinstein would have been the guy making “controversial” films about naked discus-throwing

How secular liberals, Jewish and otherwise, will respond to the new Gibson effort is an interesting question. "The Passion" proved to be an embarrassment for the ADL and others who predicted that the film’s supposed anti-Semitism would expose America’s Jewish community to medieval-style perils. Of course, no such thing came to pass.

All that the protests succeeded in doing was to ensure that many, many more people would see Gibson’s film than would have done so had there (without the ADL’s efforts) been no controversy to begin with.

For the folks who made such an aggressive and pointless fuss about "The Passion," there would seem to be two choices. The first is, once again, to raise a ruckus about how Gibson again casts Jews (in this case the secular liberal Hellenizers) as bad guys, and accomplish nothing positive. The other is to let Gibson alone. Personally, not myself being a big fan of the overlong, gratuitously violent "Passion," I would like to see him get back to the kind of spiritual thriller that caught his imagination when he starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s fabulously gripping "Signs."

[Red Badger]

The Fast novel tells the story of Jewish heroes, circa 167 B.C.E., who defeat Greek oppressors of the Jewish people, retake the Jerusalem Temple, and relight the great menorah.

The great menorah?........Is that like the great Pumpkin?.....

[oldleft]

"Jewish Palestine?"

It's called I S R A E L!

[ElkGroveDan]

The Greek vision was one of mutual theological acceptance. They were relativists, in the sense we know today, believing that not only the God of Israel but all the gods should be worshipped at the Jerusalem Temple--and believing that dissenters from their “tolerance” deserved to be suppressed.

Ah yes! We won't tolerate intolerance. We've heard that many times of late.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So what’s so offensive? If this sounds, on the contrary, like a mollifying gesture to ADL national director Abraham Foxman, you might want to look a little more closely at what Hanukkah is actually about.

Translation: We really can't find anything to complain about, but we will anyway.

[joesnuffy]

These same 'Greek' customs went a wee bit farther...and the young Jews were being enticed away from Judaism by the worldly Greeks

Saint Paul also addressed these same proclivities during his ministry to the Greeks

Hitler and friends also greatly admired the 'Greek' lifestyle of the day...

Read all about it....The Pink Swastika

[marsh_of_mists]

I hope Gibson does this. I hope he portrays the Hanukkah story as a story of orthodox religious believers triumping over urban secular oppressors. I hope he uses all Jewish actors too. The social fallout from that would be a magnificent sight to behold. Do you suppose the liberal elite would cry out against it, even though they might be percieved as anti-Semetic? Or would they dare to grin and bear it?

[elbucko]

This was a way of social climbing. By embracing Greek culture, with its aggressive relativism, ambitious Jewish elites hoped to improve their own social standing in Greek eyes.

Like John kerry's Jewish ancestor became Catholic when the boat landed in Boston

[dljordan]

"effacing their circumcisions through a surgical operation involving cutting a flap of skin around the penis and letting it hang by weights."

OOOWWW!

[workerbee]

Okay...? What offense is this supposed to be warning me about? Unless Mel is planning to show men "effacing their circumcisions through a surgical operation involving cutting a flap of skin around the penis and letting it hang by weights", I'm not sure what the problem is.

(now that's GOTTA hurt!)

[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "The Greek vision was one of mutual theological acceptance. They were relativists, in the sense we know today, believing that not only the God of Israel but all the gods should be worshiped at the Jerusalem Temple--and believing that dissenters from their “tolerance” deserved to be suppressed."

It isn't just secular-humanist that will be offended. Expect many Bishops and Cardinals in the Catholic Church to take offense. Maccabees is ripe for comparison with the post-Vatican II Church's abandonment of old Catholic dogma, including but not limited to "Outside the Church there is no salvation" and the changes to the liturgy;. Expect Protestants to be offended as well.

[pikachu]

A Mel Gibson movie without Danny Glover or Joe Pesci? Where do I get tickets?

[wideawake]

(1) Unlike the Protestant of Jewish Bibles, the Catholic Bible considers the Books of the Maccabees to be Holy Scripture and Mel Gibson has a real cultural reason to want to make this film.

(2) It is impossible to make a film about the Maccabees anti-Semitic unless one films it from the viewpoint of the degenerate pagans whom the Maccabees rebelled against.

[Alouette]

His text will be the novel "My Glorious Brothers" by Howard Fast.

I suppose that Mel is not aware Howard Fast was a staunch Communist Party member

[lepton]

xercising naked in the gymnasium,

"Gymnasium" means, "Naked training place".

[Zionist Conspirator]

Already posted.

[Cinnamon Girl]

I don't know who wrote this but: #1. I thought "Palestine" was the name the Romans gave Israel, and their occupation of Israel occurred after the Greeks. #2. I seriously doubt there are more than a handful Jews who don't know that Chanukah is about the Chashmonaiim rising up and defeating the Syrian Greeks. #3. I don't get what the writer thinks is controversial about this subject.

[newgeezer]

Very interesting. Now, this movie by Mel, I might actually see.

[Question_Assumptions]

I was wondering when someone would figure out who the Maccabees were...

[Chaffer]

766 tedious words, when all you really wanted to say was...

1) Get ready to be offended all over again. ( you sound hopeful it will offend )

2) You're not a fan the "Passion"