Chanukah - by Mel (Suspected Antisemite Now Wants To Tell The Story Of Maccabees)

NY Daily News ^ | March 17, 2004 | DEREK ROSE

[presidio9]

He has portrayed the Crucifixion - now Mel Gibson has his sights set on the tale that led to Chanukah. "The Passion of the Christ" director told WABC's Sean Hannity yesterday that he's planning a movie based on a Jewish rebellion nearly 200 years before the birth of Christ.

"The story that's always fired my imagination ... is the Book of Maccabees," Gibson said in the radio interview.

"It's about Antiochus, the king who set up his religion in the Temple, and forced them all to deny the true God and worship at his feet and worship false gods.

"The Maccabees family stood up, and they made war, they stuck by their guns, and they came out winning," he continued. "It's like a Western."

The revolt is said to have begun when a king's officer tried to force a priest named Mattathias to make a pagan sacrifice.

Mattathias killed the man instead, and he and his followers fled to the hills to wage a successful guerrilla war that eventually liberated Jerusalem in 165 B.C.

That victory led to the holiday of Chanukah, when a tiny amount of oil lasted eight days as the Maccabees purified the Temple in Jerusalem.

A story about heroic Jews might insulate Gibson from charges of anti-Semitism leveled by the movie's critics. But some Jews might not take kindly to Gibson, a conservative Catholic, interpreting their history.

Anti-Defamation League Executive Director Abe Foxman told the Orlando Sentinel recently that if Gibson dramatizes the rebellion, "we'll lose."

"He'll write his own history," Foxman said. "I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg. The Maccabees ... are our sacred history."

Gibson, though, said the success of "The Passion" has silenced some of his loudest critics, and he repeated his view that the movie does not blame Jews for Christ's death.

Gibson talked politics as well as religion during the Hannity interview.

One of a small number of Hollywood conservatives, Gibson said he thinks "a lot of what" President Bush "does is good," but he has been "having my doubts of late.

"It's all to do with these weapons [of mass destruction] that we can't seem to find, and why did we go over there [to Iraq]."

The conservative talk-show host, a Bush supporter, quickly changed the subject.

[Rutles4Ever]

The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory comes in large part from the Maccabbeen books of the Old Testament. I don't know if he'll be able to sell it to Protestant churches like the Passion...

Still, Foxman is an absolute parody of himself.

[eastsider]

"The Maccabees ... are our sacred history."

Ours, too, Abe.

[billorites]

Coming to theater near you next Christmas.

[k2blader]

I know nothing of Maccabees, but this article makes it sound like it'd make an interesting movie!

[MarkL]

No kidding...

Hey, Abe... Don't include yourself when speaking of "Jews."

You've done more to alienate everyone from the Jews since Joseph Goebles.

Mark

[JimVT]

The conservative talk-show host, a Bush supporter, quickly changed the subject.

Saints be praised.....these "writers" cannot simply report a story.

They have to add a bit of totally unfounded personal opinion at the close.

I'll wager (1). Mr. Rose is a Jew, (2). Not a Gibson fan, and (3) Doesn't like Hannity or Pres. Bush.

Other than that though he is totally unbiased!

[presidio9]

"He'll write his own history," Foxman said. "I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg. The Maccabees are our sacred history."

Sure, Senior Speilbergo has been a staunch defender of Isreal for as long as I can remember...

[MarkL]

I also like the fact that this "newspaper" actually changed the entire content of this part of the interview...

Sean asked Mel if he had any other plans for biblical movies. Mel pretty much said not really. When Sean asked him if there were any other biblical stories that he'd like to make, Mel volunteered this one... But he made it clear that he didn't have any plans to do so, and that his idea was probably going to be stolen, referring to "industrial espionage."

So, of course, this "newspaper" had to try to stir something up, and immediately went to Abe Foxman, like a 3 year old girl tatling to her mother! "Ohhh... Lookie!!! Mel's going to do something bad! You should do something about it."

It makes me sick.

Mark

[sheik yerbouty]

Steven Spielberg? I think not!

[per loin]

Nobody owns history. If the suspected hater of Christ, Abe Foxman, wants to present a movie version of his own, he is quite free to do so.

[Rutles4Ever]

Foxman is comically bitter about "The Passion". Like I said, I will be curious to see how Gibson handles the issue of "purgatory", since, as you already know, Luther removed those problematic books from the Protestant canon.

[MarkL]

Sure, Senior Speilbergo has been a staunch defender of Isreal for as long as I can remember...

Well, certainly of Cuba...

Mark

[Shermy]

"He'll write his own history,"

Blue faces and mooning the enemy?

[thoughtomator]

Good choice! Great story.

[Rutles4Ever]

Well, I'm sure the script is being written as we speak, but like you said, not necessarily with mel Gibson involved. I'm sure someone in Hollywood will latch onto his thoughts and take over from here.

[nonsporting]

"He'll write his own history," Foxman said. "I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg....

I wonder if Abe has read the disclaimer at the beginning of Spielberg's animated feature "Moses: Prince of Egypt." It would appear that Spielberg may not believe their "sacred history" is true.

Did Mel have a similar disclaimer at the beginning of the Passion? (No.)

[Paleo Conservative]

I know nothing of Maccabees,

It's in the Catholic and Othodox Bible but not the Protestant Bible.

[Jaded]

"He'll write his own history," Foxman said. "I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg. The Maccabees ... are our sacred history."

Moron alert. Moron Alert. Someone needs to explain to Abe that he, Hollyweird and Schpeilberg don't own "Jewish History". That segment of history involves more than just Jews. Come to think that's Christian History too. Like I said, moron alert.

[cwb]

"I would prefer to leave the fate of Jewish history and Hollywood to Steven Spielberg."

Yeah, well I'd prefer to leave the stories and movies of Vietnam to those who served, also...but as we've seen, even they can lie. This is just BS. I don't know how strong Spielberg's faith is, but there are many Jews who are Jews in name only. Contrary to Foxman's belief, I would be willing give as much credibility to any religious scholar (Christian or otherwise) than many of these secular Jews who have no use for their religious history...and even have other agendas. I hate to say it, but these are some of the elitist attitudes that only contribute to the negative stereotyping of Jewish people.