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ADL Letter to Mel Gibson
This letter prompted an exchange of letters between Mr. Gibson and Mr. Foxman.
• Mr. Gibson’s Letter
• Mr. Foxman’s Response
Mr. Mel Gibson
Icon Productions, Inc.
808 Wilshire Blvd., 4th Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Dear Mr. Gibson:
Since our initial letter to you on March 24, 2003 we have tried to reach out to you as you prepare your movie, "The Passion of the Christ." We had hoped that recognized scholars could help maintain the historical integrity of your script, while at the same time avoid images and words that could be used to foment hatred against Jews.
We firmly believe that diplomacy by press-release is no diplomacy at all. We would like to sit with you to discuss our fears concerning the unintended consequences that might be unleashed when your film is presented to the public. We understand that many faithful Christians will come away from viewing your film with the thought that Jesus died for all people's sins; but history has borne out the fact that many come away using the Passion as the very basis of hatred toward the Jews.
We have seen your film - and we wish we could have viewed it at your invitation - and we also recognize that it is still a "work-in-progress." What we have seen, we have seen through Jewish eyes and we know that we will view the picture differently than many of the faithful Christian community. But how will it be viewed by others? Could the images of your film be used by those who are disposed toward hatred to harden their hearts? There will be unintended consequences that we would like to discuss with you.
It is our hope that you might consider a movie postscript with you coming on screen at the end to implore your viewers to not let the movie turn some toward a passion of hatred.
We know that you have taken a great spiritual responsibility on your shoulders to present the Passion as you see it in your heart. We can only hope that your Passion will move all people in a positive way and we again hope that we can be your partners in this critical enterprise.
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Sincerely,
Abraham H. Foxman
National Director
cc: Alan Nierob, Rogers & Cowan
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