Antone's Nightclub
Time to Let Go of Anti-Semitism
RECEIVED Mon., March 1, 2004
Dear Editor,
In almost every century of the past 2,000 years, Jews have faced persecution and mass murder from the Christian-dominated societies in which they lived. The most recent massacre being the Holocaust from 1933 to 1945, which resulted in an estimated 6 million Jews killed. At the root of this terror brought down on the Jews is the role that Jews played in the death of Christ as retold in the Gospels. Jews are portrayed as largely responsible for the death of Jesus, the god of the Christians. We, as members of the community of Austin, America, and the world must recognize that this portrayal of the Jews as the killers of God is the most anti-Semitic story there is. This story, whether you believe it is historically accurate or not, has only divided Christian and Jewish communities in the past and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ only deepens that division and reopens that possibility for violence against Jews. His movie with its historically inaccurate portrayal of Pontius Pilate as sympathetic to Jesus and placing the death of Jesus mainly on the Jews is not only irresponsible but dangerous. While Jesus' suffering is an integral part of Christian belief, it is time to let go of the anti-Semitic aspects of this story before we see history repeat itself.
In almost every century of the past 2,000 years, Jews have faced persecution and mass murder from the Christian-dominated societies in which they lived. The most recent massacre being the Holocaust from 1933 to 1945, which resulted in an estimated 6 million Jews killed. At the root of this terror brought down on the Jews is the role that Jews played in the death of Christ as retold in the Gospels. Jews are portrayed as largely responsible for the death of Jesus, the god of the Christians. We, as members of the community of Austin, America, and the world must recognize that this portrayal of the Jews as the killers of God is the most anti-Semitic story there is. This story, whether you believe it is historically accurate or not, has only divided Christian and Jewish communities in the past and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ only deepens that division and reopens that possibility for violence against Jews. His movie with its historically inaccurate portrayal of Pontius Pilate as sympathetic to Jesus and placing the death of Jesus mainly on the Jews is not only irresponsible but dangerous. While Jesus' suffering is an integral part of Christian belief, it is time to let go of the anti-Semitic aspects of this story before we see history repeat itself.
Neil Loewenstern