Oy, Mondays. And tonight is the first night of Passover which means … oh wait … I’m not the religious. So basically it means I get overrun with guilt at not being more religious and more observant of millenia-old Jewish traditions such as not eating any form of grain and following extra-stringent kosher for passover rules. Throw in a very busy day at work, and what do you get? Chances are, not too many posts from yours truly.
But as I tried to make my eyes focus this morning after a very painful weekend of lots of driving, little sleep and more work than fun, I ran across this fun little news story: Gibson’s “The Passion” a Hit Among Arabs. Now, I by no means want to say that everyone in the Arab world who sees this film will feel this way, but with the current state of animosity caught up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and animosity seems like way too tame a word), it is precisely the following that has had people concerned about the effect of this movie on its audience:
Hanan Nsour, a veiled, 21-year-old Muslim in Jordan, came out of “The Passion of the Christ” in tears and pronounced her verdict: Mel Gibson’s crucifixion epic “unmasked the Jews’ lies and I hope that everybody, everywhere, turns against the Jews.”
Interestingly enough, the article goes on to make the point that, “The Quran, though, says Jesus’s crucifixion never happened.” Go figure. Of course, that’s not important as long as the main point of the film — Jews = evil — is revealed and, “everybody, everywhere, turns against the Jews.”
Thanks Mel. Maybe you should go to a seder tonight for a little bit of peace, love and understanding (thanks Elvis). On the first night of Pesach, it might be helpful to remember that the “Last Supper” wasn’t just dinner, it was a seder. So Mel, way to promote your lord and savior’s preachings. Jesus would be so proud. Oh wait … you didn’t do that. My bad.
Out of Focus 