One observation from "The Passion": Leaving the theater after the film had ended was like leaving Mass on Good Friday, it was absolutely quiet and solemn. It did not seem to me anybody was in the mood for antisocial behavior...
Don't kid yourself. The media is very selective as to which "experts" and "pundits" they interview. There were no worries in my local Jewish community about antisemitism or riots as a result of this film.
Gibson and Foxman used each other -- Gibson as part of a clever guerilla marketing campaign to garner millions in free publicity, and Foxman to gin up big donations by scaring elderly Jews. Quid pro quo.
From the article: "Let us waste no more ink debating the merits of this thoroughly bad film."
- It seems that even the writer of this story cannot escape his built in bias against a film that he has no way of appreciating on a spiritual level.
As for Hollywood's largely Jewish ruling elites, they had their revenge on Gibson and his movie by nominating it for an Academy Award alright - but in the "best make up" category. Make no mistake, that nomination was a not so subtle one finger salute to the movie's depiction of Christ's suffering.
If Gibson had any sense, he would withdraw the film from Oscar consideration rather than go up on that stage while the Hollywood movers and shakers in the audience laughed up their sleeves.