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  • Gibson arrest sparks new accusations of anti-Semitism

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060730/us_nm/gibson_dc

    Gibson arrest sparks new accusations of anti-Semitism

    Sun Jul 30, 1:59 PM ET



    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The arrest of Mel Gibson for drunk driving prompted renewed accusations on
    Sunday that the Oscar-winning director and actor harbored anti-Semitic feelings.


    Gibson, whose controversial 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ" was a major hit, was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning for allegedly driving his 2006 Lexus at 87 mph (140 kph) along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, the beach town north of Los Angeles.

    Celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted portions of what it called the arresting deputy's original report, which said Gibson was abusive, shouted anti-Jewish slurs and boasted that he "owned Malibu."

    The TMZ report quoted Gibson as saying, "F..... Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." He then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"

    Gibson issued a statement on Saturday in which he apologized for driving while drunk and for his "belligerent behavior" toward the Los Angeles County deputy sheriffs who arrested him.

    In his statement the 50-year-old actor said he has "battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."

    He added: "I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable."

    The Anti-Defamation League said in a statement on Sunday that Gibson's response was "unremorseful and insufficient" and that his tirade "finally reveals his true self."

    Many Jews and others were upset that "The Passion of the Christ" revived ancient Christian accusations that Jews bore responsibility for Jesus' death.

    "It's not a proper apology because it does not go to the essence of his bigotry and his anti-Semitism," said ADL national director Abraham Foxman.

    "We would hope that Hollywood now would realize the bigot in their midst and that they will distance themselves from this anti-Semite," he said.

    The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that a civilian committee overseeing the sheriff's department would investigate whether officers tried to cover up Gibson's behavior and statements to save the star from embarrassment.

    Gibson rocketed to fame in the late 1970s in the movie "Mad Max" and scored huge box office hits playing a cop in the "Lethal Weapon" movies.

    In 1995, he acted in and directed "Braveheart," about 13th century Scottish rebel William Wallace. The movie earned 10 Oscar nominations and won five of the top film awards, including directing for Gibson and best picture of the year.
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    I have nothing against Jews but I detest the ADL. One of the reasons so many people dislike Jews is that they play the persecution card any time it suits them. I know there's no "Zionist" plot to rule the world, but the ADL is certainly not just some watchdog group, it has an agenda.

    **rant over**

    Comment


    • #3
      I have nothing against Jews but I detest the ADL. One of the reasons so many people dislike Jews is that they play the persecution card any time it suits them. I know there's no "Zionist" plot to rule the world, but the ADL is certainly not just some watchdog group, it has an agenda.
      I don't like the ADL either, but anyone who dislikes Jews because of either the ADL or any supposed persecution cards (I find that more often then not, it is anti-Semites accusing Jews of using the persecution card rather than Jews actually using it) is just as pathetic as the ADL. And the ADL saying it does not mean Mel Gibson is not anti-Semitic. I don't know if he said what the article says he did, but if he did then I see no reason why not to consider him an anti-Semite.
      Last edited by ZFBoxcar; 31 Jul 06,, 06:58.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by troung

        The Anti-Defamation League said in a statement on Sunday that Gibson's response was "unremorseful and insufficient" and that his tirade "finally reveals his true self."

        Many Jews and others were upset that "The Passion of the Christ" revived ancient Christian accusations that Jews bore responsibility for Jesus' death.

        "It's not a proper apology because it does not go to the essence of his bigotry and his anti-Semitism," said ADL national director Abraham Foxman.

        "We would hope that Hollywood now would realize the bigot in their midst and that they will distance themselves from this anti-Semite," he said.
        Yep nothing like making accusations based on a rumor.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by ZFBoxcar
          I don't like the ADL either, but anyone who dislikes Jews because of either the ADL or any supposed persecution cards (I find that more often then not, it is anti-Semites accusing Jews of using the persecution card rather than Jews actually using it) is just as pathetic as the ADL. And the ADL saying it does not mean Mel Gibson is not anti-Semitic. I don't know if he said what the article says he did, but if he did then I see no reason why not to consider him an anti-Semite.
          I've personally never understood the massive amounts of hatred dumped on the Jews through history, but some Jews don't help their cause much, the ADL being foremost among them.

          Comment


          • #6
            The ADL are extremists in their own right. I've heard that they keep records on hundreds of people, which has gotten them into trouble with the government several times already.
            "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes." G-Man

            Comment


            • #7
              Actually the ADL recently got sued and now has to pay a fine for defaming some family... I'll dig up the link...
              To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

              Comment


              • #8
                I do believe Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite. Ironically (or not), he may have little blame against him for it. Instead, society should blame his father, Hutton Gibson, who is such a zealous Catholic that he no longer listens to the Pope, deeming the Papacy too liberal after the Vatican II Ecumenical Council (1962-1965). One of the things that must have boiled Gibson's blood was the following declaration of the council, Nostra Aetate:

                "True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ; still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ. Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone."
                This document absolved the Jews of the criticism they had faced from Christians on account that they had caused the death of Jesus.

                Most importantly, Hutton Gibson is rumored to be a Holocaust denier.
                http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...i-semite_x.htm

                Gibson's father: Holocaust was mostly 'fiction'

                NEW YORK (AP)Days before the release of Mel Gibson's film about the death of Jesus, which some critics say could fuel anti-Semitism, his father has told an interviewer that the Holocaust was mostly "fiction."

                By Corrado Giambalvo, AP

                Steve Feuerstein — host of Speak Your Piece!— said he interviewed Hutton Gibson for a segment of his show to be broadcast Monday by the small Talkline Communications Network.

                According to a transcript released by the network, Hutton Gibson said, "It's all — maybe not all fiction — but most of it is," when asked about his views on the Holocaust.

                He added: "They claimed that there were 6.2 million (Jews) in Poland before the war and after the war there were 200,000, therefore he (Hitler) must have killed 6 million of them. They simply got up and left. They were all over the Bronx and Brooklyn and Sydney and Los Angeles."

                The interview comes at a sensitive time for Mel Gibson, whose epic The Passion of the Christ is due to open Wednesday.

                Some Jewish leaders say the movie could fuel anti-Semitism for its portrayal of Jews' role in the crucifixion, while conservative Christians have praised it as a moving depiction of Christ's death.

                Gibson, who produced, directed and co-wrote the film, has said repeatedly that he is not anti-Semitic and that the project was a deeply personal expression of his own faith.

                Hutton Gibson has an unpublished phone number at his home outside Houston and could not be reached for comment. Alan Nierob, a spokesman for Mel Gibson, declined to comment on the interview.

                Hutton Gibson follows a tiny wing of traditionalist Catholicism that views the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council as a conspiracy between Jews and Masons to take over the church.

                The elder Gibson has stirred controversy in previous interviews with remarks on the Holocaust and Judaism, but had kept quiet in the months leading up to the release of The Passion.

                In this latest interview, Gibson said Jews want to take over the world. He did not know why Jews would want to achieve that, but said "it's all about control. They're after one world religion and one world government."

                Asked in media interviews whether he shares his father's views, Mel Gibson has said that he loves his father and will not speak against him.

                Zev Brenner, owner of Talkline, which he calls a Jewish network, has been calling for a boycott of all of Mel Gibson's movies.
                So all of you who think the ADL is overreacting, I urge you to reconsider. It is very likely, if not blatantly obvious that Mel Gibson was raised in a virulently anti-Semitic household. Since childhood exerts such influence on adulthood, it is furthermore likely that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic.

                If anyone is interested in reading more about Mel Gibson, you can find more than enough on Wikipedia's page, and its links. You'll find that Mel Gibson called the ending of Terry Schiavo's life "state-sanctioned murder." Hypocritically, he also supports the death penalty. Apparently, his small sect of ultra-conservative Catholicism allows for this under certain circumstances.

                This fellow is suspicious to say the least.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Wraith601
                  I've personally never understood the massive amounts of hatred dumped on the Jews through history, but some Jews don't help their cause much, the ADL being foremost among them.
                  Most religions (or anything else for that matter) incur hatred. For example, the Romans tortured the earliest Christians just as badly as the Jewish rebels. However, Judaism suffers from the fact that the Jews were never very interested in proselytizing. Since the Jews never converted many people outside of their circle, they never gained the numbers that could have protected them from persecution.

                  The Christians converted others and gained enough of a following to defend themselves and even take over the Roman Empire. The same goes for the Muslims, who had plenty of trials and tribulations before Muhammad's successors took control of the Middle East and swelled Islam's ranks.

                  My point is that there is real strength in numbers for religions. Unfortunately for the Jews, they have to endure the hatred that comes from being different and having your own beliefs - without having the numbers necessary to defend themselves.

                  The above is only my sociological rambling, and does not have the endorsement of any scholars.

                  Anti-Semitism is a fascinating thing. I can think of no people that have been more persecuted than the Jews, and I cannot think of a people that have been the target of more ridiculous rumours and slander than the Jews. I only hope that there will be vindication for these beleagured people in the end.

                  It is a cruel irony that Christians and Muslims have been so cruel to the Jews, since without Judaism there would be neither Chrisitiany or Islam. The fact is that the Western and Near Eastern world owes much of its culture to the Jews.

                  In some ways then, the Jews could be considered the fathers of Western culture along with the Greeks. Is not anti-Semitism then the ultimate patricide?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    People say silly **** when they are drunk as hell...
                    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by troung
                      Actually the ADL recently got sued and now has to pay a fine for defaming some family... I'll dig up the link...
                      Wow how ironic is that? The Anti Defamation League defamed someone...

                      My question has always been "do we have to like everyone?"

                      Do we not have the right to not like someone, or even a group of people?

                      Has Mel Gibson personally done anything that has harmed any Jew in any setting?

                      I feel kinda lost when our Constitution protects our right to burn flags but we can't dislike someone.
                      Last edited by gunnut; 01 Aug 06,, 06:22.
                      "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I feel kinda lost when our Constitution protects our right to burn flags but we can't dislike someone.
                        Where does the law say you can't dislike someone? Nevertheless if he doesn't like me because of the group I was born into I will hate him, but of course I am not saying he should suffer any legal penalty. He shouldn't. But if I could do him a bad turn in any way that doesn't infringe on his rights, I would.

                        Do we not have the right to not like someone, or even a group of people?
                        Yes, you do, but it doesn't mean that you have the right to be free of the consequences of it. If you don't like black people, expect black people and their organizations to hate you and try to destroy your reputation. Same with Jews. Freedom to dislike works both ways.
                        Last edited by ZFBoxcar; 01 Aug 06,, 06:37.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I agree. He should suffer the consequences for his dislike of Jews. But it seems like we are trying to make everyone like everyone else.

                          Oh no, he dislikes a certain group of people. He's bad.

                          So what? So he dislikes certain people. I bet they don't like him either. Let's get on with our lives. I don't talk to you. You don't talk to me. Over and done.
                          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I would agree that it isn't a big deal. But I still say it does in fact make him bad. Hating someone because of something they are born with and cannot change is bad.

                            But it seems like we are trying to make everyone like everyone else.
                            Who is we and what are we doing to make everyone like everyone else? If it is just "society" and if the actions are nothing more than words then I fully support this. I would like racists to be ostracized and treated like scum by the general public. Again, no legal consequences, but societal pressure and education. Why do you have a problem with non-violent/non-coersive means of eliminating bigotry? I understand the dislike of anything that seems like brainwashing, but I don't see how it is brainwashing to try to make obvious the simple truth that ethnicity is not a legitimate reason to hate someone (once more I mean socially legitimate, not legally, I am for the most part a civil libertarian)

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I'm more for the libertarian approach.

                              Here's a racist. OK, I don't like racists and I won't have any dealings with him. Other people may or may not like him, but that's not up to me to decide for them.

                              It's like the Dixie Chicks and their staunch anti Bush stance. The public stopped dealing with them and they paid for by not selling well.
                              "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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