Anti-Semitism a New Thing for Me

The voice coming through my telephone courtesy of Mother Times' voice mail system this morning was matter-of-fact and calm -- like he was discussing the prospects for the Devil Rays or whether it would rain today.

But his sentiment -- that Mel Gibson's  drunken, anti-Semitic triade was right and Jews are the cause of all the trouble in the world -- was not.

It's the price you pay for putting your telephone number at the end of your stories. But I never though my piece about prominent Jews' reaction to Mel Gibson trying to take back his public Jew-hating comments  would draw that kind of response.

I've gotta admit, as a black man raised in Indiana, I never understood the whole anti-Semitism thing. Growing up, I was used to the idea that some white people hated black people simply because they looked different -- that's an easy concept for a kid to get.

But when I transferred to a private, Jewish middle school in 5th grade -- my mom, a public school teacher in Gary, knew the school was better than any I would attend in the public sphere -- I learned some white Christians hated Jews the same way ("They're all white!" I would say to myself, unable to grasp the logic).

These days, such attitudes make even less sense, for different reasons.  Of particular surprise to me is the way some conservative Christians embrace supporting Israel on the one hand, but love movies like the Passion of the Christ and Left Behind on the other. In these movies, the only way Jews find redemption is by converting to Christianity; the Christian Right may hate Arabs more than it hates Jews, but they seem to hold a secret hope that their Kosher friends will eventually jump to their side.

"They don’t understand: we are never going to covert to Christianity. It hasn’t happened for 2000 years," said Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, host of TLC's Shalom in the Home and an up-and-coming self-help guru. He's felt Gibson was a bigot since viewing 2004's Passion of the Christ and seeing how it depicted Romans showing sympathy to Jesus while Jews plotted and schemed to kill him.

"It’s a huge propaganda exercise," said Boteach, who has brought his brand of fix-yourself counseling to Oprah and 15 books. "Yassir Arafat was hailing the film. I was shocked that my Christian bothers and sisters were promoting it almost as a sacrament....promoting a movie promoting lies. The most shocking thing of all, was the fact that so many Jewish conservatives also promoted the film.”

But Rabbi Richard Birnholz of  Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa noted something else: "I saw the film and found it interesting that when Christians viewed it they came away with a very different conclusion than I did. Like Shmuly Boteach, I felt it did perpetuate the image of the Jew as Christ-killer. But most Christians never really thought about that image of it. They were concentrating on Jesus’ suffering as a way of thinking about their own suffering and renewal."

Here's a few quotes about the whole thing which couldn't fit in my story today:

Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize-winning author, Holocaust survivor and former chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council: "How many anti-Semites say they are not? And who is to say someone is an anti-Semite – the perpetrator, or the victim? The victims of racism and intolerance are the ones to make that determination, I think. I believe in atonement, but there must be real atonement. He must almost go from one Jew to another and ask for forgiveness. If he does it only to please the public and for goood press relations, it means nothing."

Boteach: "He’s clearly filled with self loathing. The person he hates is himself. You don’t drink yourself into oblivion unless you hate yourself, and have a need to find an external target to focus your hatred. I believe there’s a direct relationship between his anti Semitism and his self loathing. Like a lot of people, he probably thought being rich and famous would solve his problems. And as you can see, that hasn’t worked for him.”

Jonathan Ellis, chair of the Jewish Community Center/Federation's Community Relations Council: "He says I’m not a racist and this thing just happened…but how does that pop into your mind of all the things you can possibly say? And can you get past it, if you won't even admit that's how you really feel? What are Mel Gibson’s true and real feelings on Jewish issues, anti Semitism and the Holocaust? You have to sit down and have some kind of dialogue; saying 'I said it , I’m sorry I’m not anti-Semitic'...well, which comment are you supposed to believe? If you’re going to tell the truth is it more likely to happen during a media interview, or when you get pulled over at night when you’re intoxicated?"

Boteach:  "To have one of the biggest stars in the world to be an out and out anti Semite, is amazing. American men in general are very broken. They’re told they have to make a success for themselves in a very early age, and success has only two criteria: money and reknown. It is a very dehumanizing message. You always have to be a human doing. You never have any soul time. And with celebrities, they reach the apogee of success – and you’re still not happy. Because that stuff is never going to make you happy. Success is when you feel at one with your gifts. That’s why (Gibson) has become so focus driven. 'Why am I so miserable? Those damn Jews.' And to hate so much and to blame others for your situation is profoundly disemopowering.”

Comments

[mr cynical]

....I learned some white Christians hated Jews the same way ("They're all white!" I would say to myself, unable to grasp the logic).....ok, but since then, im sure, your education has made you aware of the long history of black hatred of jews, perhaps best illustrated in modern times when the black christian, the rev jesse jackson, was caught on tape referring to nyc as 'hymie-town.'and of course, the black muslim minister louis farakhan is a well-known virulent anti-semite.blacks and jews, for some reason, just dont seem to get along: witness the black calif us rep maxine waters going all the way to connecticut to campaign this weekend against dem us sen joe lieberman. sure, she says its about the war in iraq. but we all know differently.

[Eric Deggans]

Not really sure what your post has to with what I was talking about.The point of that part of my post, was that I was used to black/white friction. I was not used to one group of white people hating another group of white people.What that has to do with the black people who are also bigoted against Jewish people, I have no idea.

[Eric Deggans]

And I would also correct your post to note that SOME black people have a problem with Jews, just like SOME white people are anti-Semitic.There were many black leaders who worked with Jewish people during the civil rights movement and who denounced Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan and Al Shaprton when each of them said things that were prejudiced and bigoted about Jewish people.

[mr cynical]

my point was that you only focused on what you termed your surprise about white and christian anti-semitism, ignoring one of the world's best known cauldrons of jewish hatred: blacks.

[Eric Deggans]

Actually,I'm not sure black people are among the world's best-known cauldrons of anti Jewish sentiment. I think that distinction goes to the Nazis first and anti-Israeli arabs next and neo-Nazi racists in America third.I grew up in a town that was 95 percent black and didn't encounter anti-Jewish sentiment until I left my neighborhood. So, for me as a kid, I didn't get the anti-Semitism thing. Sorry to burst your bubble...

[Anonymous]

Hollywood types say stupid things all the time. I don't get the 4000 word front page story. Where is the coverage when people like harry belafonte are sucking up to hugo chavez and blasting America? Or the myriad black leaders mentioned by the other poster? I think a little less of Mel now, but come on. Was anyone looking to Mel Gibson for guidance? He's a frigging actor. How about some real news?

[Eric Deggans]

Get a grip, dude. The story was 954 words, including my byline and the end credit line. Mel Gibson is not a faded pop star with a history of inflammatory, leftist rhetoric in his past. He is one of the country's biggest movie stars, who made $300-million directing the most successful independent film of all time -- a film which, by the way, also brought allegations of anti-Semitism against Gibson.At the time, he denied he was anti-Jewish and denied the film was an expression of any anti-Jewish sentiment. Now, those words seem hollow.Our front page also had stories about Castro nd Lebanon -- which is the great thing about a newspaper; mny different topics can be included. And, finally, I seem to remember Jesse Jackson's Hymietown remark gotplenty of front-page play in newspapers.So I think there's ample evidence that this was a news story worth covering...

[Anonymous]

Oh come on now, Jesse Jackson is as recognizable as Gibson, has extorted far more money than Gibson will ever dream of and makes a living claiming to fight for eqaulity. And as I remember, only in NYC did the hymietown remark make the front page. The fact remains that famous people say idiotic things all the time. This particualr remark is being eaten up by a leftist media that's hell-bent on belittling and discrediting a devout Christian. I, by the way, am not religious. I'm also rabidly pro-Israel. The guy may very well deserve to be dragged through the mud, but don't pretend that the media isn't playing this up for all it's worth, or that a liberal of any stature would be treated the same way.

[Anonymous]

White anti-Semites took you by surprise? Ever heard of the Holocaust?