The Romans were merciless and criminal, but there was nothing likable in any of the Jews except Jesus and his close followers. It has a veneer of authenticity, but you can find things along the way, such as an artificial distinction between Jews and Romans, that contradict his assertion. Further viewings of the film confirm that Gibson uses many horror motifs, including the isolation in the garden, the eerie darkness, protruding eyes of children taunting Judas, the worm crawling from the devil's nose, and so forth.īut on this day, the plan was to stop the film for comments from Adlerstein and Gomez when scenes reflected anti-Semitism.īefore the private screening, Adlerstein said about the release of 'The Passion of the Christ' in 2004: 'The Jewish community probably overreacted at the time, and the reason for this was more than defensible because there were stirrings of a global resurgence of anti-Semitism, and events of the last 10 years unfortunately bear out those misgivings.'Īdlerstein also said Gibson 'packaged this as the only authentic film about the Passion. Right after Christmas, I had the opportunity to sit down with two friends, Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of interfaith affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and Yvonne Gomez, a Christian research consultant, to watch 'The Passion of the Christ.'īack in 2004, I reviewed 'The Passion of the Christ' as a horror film, and this upset many of my readers. 25 will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Mel Gibson's hugely successful and controversial 'The Passion of the Christ.' Actor Jim Caviezel portrays Jesus on the cross in a scene from 'The Passion of the Christ.' (CNS/Icon)įeb.

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