FEB. 14, 2005

INTERFAITH ISSUES
Jewish-Christian relations a year after 'The Passion'

• See also Feb. 14, 2005, ReligionLink tip, "Truce reinvigorates American Jewish peace movement"

The premiere of The Passion of the Christ on Feb. 25, 2004 - Ash Wednesday - was accompanied by both dire warnings that the film would foment anti-Semitism and by sharp denunciations of those predictions as unfounded and even "anti-Christian." The movie, financed and directed by actor Mel Gibson, a traditionalist Catholic, went on to take in more than $600 million at the box office, making it the third most successful film of the year. But the movie remains a symbol of the many tensions and issues still burdening the relationship between Christians and Jews.

Now, a year after the film's release, is a good time to take stock of the situation and to pose crucial questions: Did the film increase sentiment against Jews? Or did it prompt healthy discussions on difficult topics? Is anti-Semitism in general increasing or decreasing? Is the state of Christian-Jewish relations better or worse? Looking past movies such as The Passion, what are the issues driving - or blocking - dialogue and fruitful interaction?

Why it Matters
Anti-Semitism and Jewish-Christian dialogue are among the most important religious issues of the contemporary era. Beyond the furor over The Passion, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz (Jan. 27) and the approach of Easter (March 27) and Passover (April 24) are poignant reminders of the close but often tortuous connections between these two communities.

Moreover, in 2005 the Roman Catholic Church marks the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Nostra Aetate, the historic Oct. 28, 1965, declaration of the Second Vatican Council on "The Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions." The document's most famous lines concerned Judaism, stating that the Catholic Church "decries hatred, persecutions, and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and by anyone." That document and other developments have helped transform Jewish-Christian relations in the post-Holocaust era, but leaders and experts in both communities say much work remains.

Scholars and religious leaders say that work is even more critical in this era of rising religious tensions around the world. The issues surrounding Jewish-Christian dialogue reflect larger themes: the rights of minority faiths in societies dominated by another religion, the rights of any religion - majority or not - to seek converts, the mix of faith and political agendas, and the foundational question of historical accuracy and theological truth. Much of Jewish-Christian dialogue concerns not just what is happening today, but what happened in the last century, and 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land.

Angles for reporters
To find jumping-off points for stories, reporters can check with local Jewish federations for interfaith programs they may be sponsoring, and with the interfaith officials of the Christian denominations in your area. Many Jewish groups hold "model seders" to educate their non-Jewish neighbors about Jewish traditions. Which religious leaders attend? Some churches have held their own model seders, without Jewish input, which can be a source of concern to Jewish groups. They can also find out which local churches are showing The Passion for Eastertime. If reporters live in an area that has no significant Jewish population, do local religious leaders still have interfaith education efforts?

The furor over The Passion was seen by many experts and leaders of interfaith dialogue as an unsettling reminder of how fragile the relationship between Christians and Jews remains, and how quickly the issue of anti-Semitism can emerge. A number of other flashpoints also come into play:

THE MIDDLE EAST
The war in Iraq, the fate of the dwindling Christian population in the Holy Land, and the Israeli-Palestinian question are all issues that can divide Christians and Jews.

A case in point was the uproar in October 2004 when a delegation from the Presbyterian Church (USA) met in southern Lebanon with leaders of Hezbollah, which the U.S. State Department lists as a terrorist group. The meeting itself was already controversial. Then one of the committee members told an Arab television network that "relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders." Reports of the comments and the meeting drew headlines and protests from Jewish groups, and two PCUSA officials were fired.

That dust-up followed the July 2004 decision by the General Assembly of the PCUSA, by a 431-62 vote, to divest from companies that are invested in Israel. Subsequent reports that some provinces in the Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church, were considering divesting as a way to pressure Israel also caused an uproar. A statement from Episcopal Church leaders said no decision had been made and the issue would be discussed at a worldwide meeting of Anglican leaders in June 2005.

CHRISTIANS CONVERTING JEWS
Concern over Christian denominations aggressively seeking to convert Jews has also moved beyond the issue of "Jews for Jesus" or controversial statements by Southern Baptist leaders. In 2003 the PCUSA approved $345,000 to fund a Messianic congregation in Philadelphia called Avodat Yisrael, which was aimed at drawing Jews to the Presbyterian Church. In 2004 the General Assembly declined to suspend its funding despite sharp criticism from many Jewish leaders.

JEWISH-EVANGELICAL RELATIONS
Jewish relations with conservative evangelicals remain conflicted. Many Jewish leaders recognize the strong support by evangelicals for the state of Israel. At the same time, they are disturbed by statements by many evangelical Christian leaders about the validity of Jewish belief, and by popular apocalyptic visions such as those in the Left Behind series that show unconverted Jews dying in a conflagration at the End Times.

JEWISH-CATHOLIC RELATIONS
Catholic relations with Judaism are also turbulent. Jewish concern over Vatican efforts to beatify the wartime pope, Pius XII, who many Jews feel did not do enough to stop the Holocaust, alternate with the deep reservoir of good will that the Jewish community has for Pope John Paul II, and concern over who his successor might be. A Jan. 18, 2005, meeting between the pope and Jewish leaders was reportedly the largest ever, and a sign of good relations.

BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL SCHOLARSHIP
The issues surrounding The Passion centered around historical accuracy and theological meaning. What was the role of the Jewish community in Jesus' death? How did first-century Christians view the Jewish community? What does that mean about theological justifications for long-standing attitudes? New research has upended some old notions, reinforced others and ensured that debates will continue. But can they continue in a civil way?

MUSLIM ANTI-SEMITISM
Islamic anti-Semitism is an issue, although the U.S. State Department's Report on Global Anti-Semitism, released in January 2005, sees this as largely a European phenomenon, along with the rise of neo-Nazis and skinhead movements.

JEW VS. JEW
Another aspect of the story is the debate within the Jewish community about how to react to anti-Semitism. A Jan. 29, 2005, New York Times op-ed called "Playing the Holocaust Card," by Ami Eden, national editor of The Forward, critiques Jewish responses to Prince Harry's wearing of a Nazi costume at a party. Eden's comments and the reactions to them in subsequent letters to the editor give some insight into the debate.

Skip to background

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• The International Council of Christians and Jews serves as the umbrella organization of 38 national Jewish-Christian dialogue organizations worldwide. The North American branch of the organization is the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations, which lists more than two dozen affiliated centers and institutes around the country with access to dozens of scholars and experts.
• Philip A. Cunningham is a theology professor at Boston College and executive director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning there. The center is "devoted to the multifaceted development and implementation of new relationships between Christians and Jews that are based not merely on toleration but on full respect and mutual enrichment." Contact 617-552-6027, Philip.Cunningham.1@bc.edu.
• Rabbi A. James Rudin is the senior interreligious adviser for the American Jewish Committee and a longtime veteran of Christian-Jewish dialogue. He has consulted frequently with Christian churches and groups that want to present Passion plays and Easter dramas. Rudin is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at St. Leo University in Florida, where he works at the university's Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies. Contact 352-588-8597, james.rudin@saintleo.edu.
• Harvey Cox is the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and a renowned author and commentator on religious issues, especially Christian-Jewish relations. He is working on a book dealing with "contemporary literary, artistic and poetic interpretations of Jesus." Contact through the media relations office, 617-496-6004, or by email, Harvey_Cox@harvard.edu.
• Abraham Foxman is national director of the Anti-Defamation League, probably the best-known Jewish organization battling anti-Semitism. Based in New York, the ADL has state and regional chapters around the country. Contact through Myrna Shinbaum at media relations, 212-885-7747, adlmedia@adl.org.
• William Donohue is president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, an organization that is akin to a Catholic counterpart to the ADL. Donohue is an outspoken defender of Mel Gibson and The Passion and engaged in sharp debates with Jewish leaders over the film and charges of anti-Semitism. Contact 212-371-3191, news@catholicleague.org.
• The American Jewish Congress is a leading Jewish advocacy group dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. The AJC has regional chapters around the country for local sources. Juda Engelmayer is the press liaison. Contact 212-360-1587, jengelmayer@ajcongress.org.
• Amcha-The Coalition for Jewish Concerns is one of the more vocal opponents of anti-Semitism, to a degree that sometimes puts it at odds with other Jewish groups. The CJC is based in New York City and is led by activist Rabbi Avi Weiss. Contact 718-884-8499, amchacjc@amchacjc.org.
• The Sister Rose Thering Endowment for Jewish Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey is a good source for scholars and veterans in Jewish-Christian dialogue from both communities.
• The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore is an excellent resource for experts on Christian-Jewish relations. Contact 410-523-7227, Info@icjs.org.

Background

National and regional interview sources and background are available in these ReligionLink tips:
• 'Passion' plays out locally (Jan. 20, 2004)
• Holocaust museums, education grow (April 12, 2004)
• Can we talk? Free speech and Mideast policy (Nov. 4, 2002)
• Museums bolstering Judaism's public face (Sept. 9, 2002)

THE MOVIE
• Beliefnet.com's coverage of The Passion of the Christ includes essays about anti-Semitism and Jewish-Christian relations from different points of view.
• Read this article about the furor over The Passion by Vanderbilt Divinity School professor Amy-Jill Levine in the fall 2003 issue of Religion in the News.

STATISTICS
• Read the latest Anti-Defamation League annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents. Note: The next audit, from 2004, will be released in March 2005.
• Read the U.S. State Department's Report on Global Anti-Semitism, released in January 2005.
• See a January 2004 Beliefnet story on the State Department report on anti-Semitism.

JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS
• Read a Jan. 27, 2005, column by Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony on Nostra Aetate and the record of Catholic documents since then regarding Judaism.
• Read a Jan. 28, 2005, Catholic News Service story about a threat by a Jewish group, the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, to sue the Vatican for access to its World War II-era archives.
• Read the declaration "Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity" that was issued by more than 170 Jewish scholars in September 2000. It is considered a landmark document in Christian-Jewish relations. See this list for a full catalog of the signers.

SURVEYS
• An April 2004 Pew Research Poll conducted a month after the release of The Passion found that the belief that Jews were responsible for Christ's death was increasing and was particularly strong among viewers of The Passion.
• A smaller survey taken two weeks after the movie's premiere by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research found that among those who saw the film or were familiar with it, 83 percent said it had no impact on the extent to which they feel contemporary Jews are to blame for Jesus' death. Two percent said The Passion made them more likely to hold Jews responsible, and 9 percent said the film has made them less likely to hold today's Jews responsible.
• A 2004 ABC News poll conducted three weeks before the premiere of The Passion found that fewer than one in 10 Americans say all Jews today are responsible for the death of Jesus.
• An Anti-Defamation League poll conducted two months before the release of The Passion found that 25 percent of those surveyed accepted the statement, "Do you think that Jews were responsible for the death of Christ?" as being "probably true."
• See a June 11, 2003, Gallup Poll (subscription only) which found that although a majority of Americans believe anti-Semitism is a problem in the United States, about four in 10 believe bias against Jews is not a problem.

'PASSION' BOOKS
A number of books, mainly collections of essays, were published in the year after the movie premiered. These are useful resources for experts of varied backgrounds and viewpoints.
• Pondering the Passion: What's at Stake for Christians and Jews (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004) is a collection of 15 articles by various experts, Christian and Jewish, from around the country. The collection examines the history of depictions of the crucifixion and their impact on Christian-Jewish relations up through the Mel Gibson movie.
• Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) is a series of 13 essays edited S. Brent Plate that discuss the state of Christian-Jewish relations in light of the film.
• After 'The Passion' is Gone: American Religious Consequences (AltaMira, 2004), edited by the University of Judaism's J. Shawn Landres and Michael Berenbaum, examines the controversies surrounding the film, placing it in the context of Christian-Jewish relations and interreligious dialogue in the United States. (Ed. note: The University of Judaism merged with Brandeis-Bardin to become American Jewish University in 2007.)
• Perspectives on The Passion of the Christ: Religious Thinkers and Writers Explore the Issues Raised by the Controversial Movie (Miramax Books, 2004) includes a number of contributions from theologians, journalists, academics and philosophers from varied views and backgrounds.
• In Jesus and Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ': The Film, the Gospels and the Claims of History (Continuum, 2004), edited by Kathleen E. Corley and Robert L. Webb, 10 scholars give their take on Gibson's Passion and its impact.