http://7am.com/cgi-bin/catwire.cgi?U...2003110701.htm
A noted Jewish leader has said Mel Gibson is "seriously infected" with anti-Semitism, based on comments the actor recently made in defense of his upcoming film, The Passion of Christ.
"I think he's infected -- seriously infected -- with some very, very serious anti-Semitic views," Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), said of Mr. Gibson.
Mr. Foxman made his remarks during a panel discussion Thursday in New York City. The discussion was titled, "Mel Gibson's The Passion: A Conversation on Its Implications for Jews and Christians."
"He's got classical anti-Semitic views," Mr. Foxman told CNSNews.com, in an interview. "If he can say that there is a cabal out there of secular liberal Jews who are trying to blame the Holocaust on the Catholic Church, that's a classic anti-Semitic canard -- that Jews operate in cabals to get their way."
William Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, criticized Mr. Foxman for his views.
"I would regard this as the most singular irresponsible statement we have heard yet from any one of Mel Gibson's critics," Mr. Donohue told the online news service.
Mr. said the comments about Gibson and his movie at the ADL panel discussion are what you would "expect from people in an asylum."
He also said he had seen the film, but noted none of the three panelists in New York had done so.