An Undeniable History

Gloria Rodríguez

March 1, 2004

A group of rabbis, wearing yarmulkes, stepped outside an Upper East Side theatre after the morning showing of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ on the day it was released -- Ash Wednesday. While some Christians went to see the film for inspiration on the first day of Lent, the rabbis went to hold a press conference addressing the potential harm it could cause for the Jewish community. The controversy surrounding Jewish claims that the film portrays Jews as the killers of Jesus attracted a pack of reporters to the East 86th Street theatre.

"There is nothing positive about this film," said Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, who is also vice president of the Coalition of Jewish Concerns. "It downplays all of the positive theology that Jesus has to offer. This is a deeply painful movie and I think it's going to promote more hatred and more persecution of Jews in the world."

For Jews, this threat is very real. Rabbi Avi Weiss, an Orthodox leader known for his activism among New York's Jewish community, also spoke out against the film at the screening.

"For me, 'never again' are two very, very holy words," said Weiss, who was born on the tail end of the Holocaust.

"I'm a student of that history and I am a student of parallels between Christian anti-Semitism and what the Nazis did to our people, and I am also a student of the tremendous progress we have made. This sets us back very seriously."

Weiss said he often incorporates the history of persecution against Jews in his teachings. Many Jews attend Hebrew schools, where they learn about the Jewish culture and religion.

The story of Adolf Hitler's persecution of six million Jews in Europe is well-known. But the history of Jewish persecution originates with Christian notions that Jews killed Jesus, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center Web site. Jews have been persecuted by Romans, Europeans, and other Christians, going back 2,000 years, the Web site said.

Karen Blum, who runs a Chabad House for Columbia University Jewish students who want to learn more about their faith, said there is a larger, lesser-known history of persecution. Some believe more Jews died during the pogroms in Russia then during the Holocaust, she said. The Russian government instituted the mass killings of Jews on several occasions.

Etah Mintz, of the Hebrew Institute, attended the morning screening of "The Passion of the Christ," and said the film inspired him.

"It makes me passionate to fight anti-Semitism and persecution against all types of people," he said.

For many, the continued fear of persecution keeps the battle against anti-Semitism alive. On the film's $23.6 million opening, Jewish demonstrators protested against the film at Times Square. A group of them wore concentration camp uniforms.

Some of the scenes in the film brought Weiss painful reminders of the Holocaust, he said.

"I must say what I saw in that film, certain scenes, certain powerful images -- the image of Jesus being taunted, the image of Jesus being beaten and then murdered -- what I saw were Nazis murdering my people, six million of my people because they were Jews; one and a half million of them in fact little children," Weiss said. "And they were murdered in no small measure."

There were no major anti-Semitic incidents in the city as a result of the film, but there were some minor incidents reported. The week the film came out, a woman found two swastikas drawn in front of her home on East 7th Street, the 61st Precinct reported. Swastikas were also found scrawled on the northbound platform of the "F" and "V" line at Houston Street and 2nd Avenue at the 9th Precinct. The 50th Precinct in Manhattan reported that an employee got anti-Semetic e-mails.

Signs, some might say, that there is still a ways to go in terms of tolerance for all people.

(Updated May 12, 2004)