The Passion of the Christ round-up

Those stories on The Passion of the Christ just keep coming. This one is from the Miami Herald:

Co-star Defends Mel Gibson Film
ALISON MUTLER
Associated Press

Maria Morgenstern plays Mary in the film (the mother of Jesus, not Magdalene) and she is the daugther of a holocaust survivor (see older blog entry on); here is an excerpt:

"When people go and see the film, they will (primarily) see a work of art," she said. Muslims, atheists, Christians and Jews worked on the film but race and religion were never an issue, said Morgenstern, 42, who is Jewish.

Any political message the film offers is "about the responsibility and impact political and military leaders can have in manipulating the masses and interfering in people's conscience, particularly at a moment of crisis as it was then," said Morgenstern.

"The Roman occupation was terrible and people were very poor. Pontius Pilate was very afraid that there could be a real revolution," she said, referring to the Roman governor of Judea who caved in the face of crowd pressure and allowed Jesus to be crucified"

For a break from all the frowning and earnestness on all sides, and a good laugh, have a look at this piece from the Toronto Star by Slinger:

It's the real thing: Vision of Mel (Gibson, that is)

But back to the serious business of the question of anti-semitism, I recently mentioned the ADL (Anti-Defamation League's) Letter to Mel Gibson. It seems now that they have received a reply:

Mel Gibson's Letter to Abraham H. Foxman

And Foxman has replied:

ADL Response to Mel Gibson

Copies of these are on the ADL web site (to which the previous links point) or you can go to a news article that discusses the correspondence here in JTA News:

Gibson, Foxman trade letters, but fail to find a common ground
By Tom Tugend

That article also mentions Matt. 27.25, "His blood be on us and on our children", which is spoken by Caiaphas in The Passion of the Christ but by the crowd in Matthew. Some months ago, it was reported that this scene had been dropped from the film. But then in the recent preview screenings, it appeared still to be there. Now it is apparently to be deleted again. Sometimes this feels like it is going round in circles; here's the article from the New York Times

Gibson to Delete a Scene in 'Passion'
By SHARON WAXMAN

A scene in the film, in which the Jewish high priest Caiaphas calls down a kind of curse on the Jewish people by declaring of the Crucifixion, "His blood be on us and on our children," will not be in the movie's final version, said the Gibson associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The passage had been included in some versions of the film that were shown before select groups, mostly of priests and ministers.

"It didn't work in the focus screenings," the associate said. "Maybe it was thought to be too hurtful, or taken not in the way it was intended. It has been used terribly over the years."