He was not: he was pagan, just like the rest of the socialists. And, after Jews and Roma (Gypsies), the next in line for his persecution were Christian leaders. Consscience stands in the way of the socialists -- how can they possibly live in peace with religion?
Some American Jews inherited apprehension from pre-Holocause times. It was indeed the position of the Church that the living Jews were collectively responsible for the death of Christ, and it was common for church-goers returning from an Easter Mass to attack the Jewish neighbors.
What upsets me -- and I am Jewish -- that so many American Jews do not differentiate European and American experiences. Mobs have never attacked Jewish homes; we never had pogroms in this country. Surely, there was and is anti-Semitism --- prejudice is an enduring vice among people of all religions and ethnic groups. But we never had anything remotely resembling the European experiences of the Jews.
Not to see the difference is very unfair and insulting to our Christian friends and neighbors. For whatever it is worth, I am very sorry to see that the leftist Jews got so much publicity attacking Gibson's movie. The religious Jews voiced their opposition to this slander, but did not have nearly as much presence.