By John Jalsevac
MALIBU, CA, August 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) –“There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of Anti-Semitic remark,” Mel Gibson wrote in a letter today, addressed in apology to the worldwide Jewish community.
The world famous actor, producer and director made the apology after being arrested this past Friday for drunk driving, after a police officer clocked his Lexus at 87 mph in a 45 mph zone. A police report detailing Gibson’s drunken behaviour during the arrestÂwas leaked to the press, and included twoÂanti-semitic remarks made by the actor,Âwhich have leadÂto a public furor surrounding the man most famous for directing and producing the controversial film The Passion of the Christ.
In the process of the arrest, Gibson is reported to haveÂexploded into profanities, as well as exlaiming at one point, “Jews are responsible for all the wars of the world.” Allegedly Gibson then asked the arresting officer if the officer himself was a Jew.
The arresting officer, however,Âwho says that the arrest was perfectly routine, has dismissed Gibson’s remarks as of little consequence. “That stuff is booze talking,”Deputy James Mee told AP. “There’s two things that booze does. It amplifies your basic personality. If you are a laid-back kind of person, just an easy going kind of person, booze is going to amplify that and you’ll be just sitting around going how it’s a wonderful day.
“But, if you are high-strung person, it’s going to amplify that and all the bad things are going to come out.”
Some, however,Âhave interpreted the remarks as a clear confirmation of the truth of the public accusations of anti-Semitism that were levelled at Gibson surrounding the release of his film detailing the last 12 hours of Christ’s life, The Passion of the Christ.
An initial apology released shortly after Gibson’s arrest was criticized by some for the fact that it didn’t address the anti-Semitic remarks in particular, although the actor did admit to battling with alcoholism.
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said of the initial apology, “Mel Gibson’s apology is unremorseful and insufficient. It’s not a proper apology because it does not go to the essence of his bigotry and his anti-Semitism. His tirade finally reveals his true self and shows that his protestations during the debate over his film The Passion of the Christ, that he is such a tolerant, loving person, were a sham.”
Gibson, however, directly responded today to his remarks pertaining to Jews. “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge,” he said.
“The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God’s child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith…”
“I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery. Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.”
Gibson indicated his desire to meet with leaders of the Jewish community “with whom I can have a one on one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.”
Meanwhile, an inside source alleges that Gibson was on the verge of suicide on the night he was arrested, as reported by Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood. According to Finke, the source said that Gibson, “was really on the verge of suicide because he felt he was helpless to alcohol and didn’t know what to do about it.”
“No one’s really asking questions about his state of mind. That’s why he was driving around 90 miles an hour. This was a death wish. If that cop hadn’t stopped him, this guy was going to be wrapped around a pole. This is such a bigger issue than ‘Will he work again?’ This is about his not wanting to live anymore,” said the source.
Many of those who look upon The Passion of the Christ as a masterpiece of religious film-making have expressed concern that Gibson’s many detractors are much too eager toÂleap at the chance to use of Gibson’s slip-up to lambaste his work. “Mel’s enemies will never cut him a break,” said Catholic League President Bill Donahue. “Their real goal is to discredit ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and that is why their propaganda machine is in full gear.”
Gibson is reported to have entered a recovery program for his alcoholism.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Pope Doesn’t Find The Passion Anti-Semitic but Police and Courts are Investigating
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04031103.html
Poll Reveals “The Passion of the Christ” Does Not Foster Anti-Semitism
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04031606.html
Child of Holocaust Survivors and Co-Star Says Gibson Film ‘Not Anti-Semitic’
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04020507.html
Liberal Bishops Bash Gibson’s Passion as “A Modern Version of Notorious Medieval Passion Plays”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/dec/04120105.html