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Gibson will have to do much more than fake sincerity



















R' Mel Gibson - Der Mellertzer Rebbe

So, Mel doesn't know where the words came from. Mr Gibson, superstar, went into an anti-Semitic rant when he was arrested by police on a drink-driving charge. It's alleged that the celebrated Australian movie star, after swinging like a monkey on the bars of his cell, asked a police officer if he was a Jew before going on to accuse the "****ing Jews" of being "responsible for all the wars in the world".
Charming. Gibson is now contrite, apologising for saying "despicable things he did not believe to be true". He says he hopes to meet Jewish leaders to help him "understand where those vicious words came from". The implication of this is that he is not really anti-Semitic. Somehow, under the influence of alcohol, words that didn't represent his true beliefs popped out. Aye, right. No doubt some of his best friends are Jews, and all that. A number of issues need to be disentangled here. They have to do with alcoholic self-deception, the rise of "respectable" anti-Semitism, self-interest, the actions of Israel's government and the nature of repentance. So let's go.
Mel Gibson's morning-after grovelling may have as much to do with the fact that he is due to film a TV series about the Holocaust, and this project is now under serious threat. Gibson, at the top of his game, has done a spectacular Zidane headbutt on his own reputation before an audience of millions.
What of the claim that the booze made him say things he didn't believe to be true? I'm sure that some who love Mel will believe him. The fact is that drink loosens inhibitions and allows people to utter the words that they believe deep down but dare not say in polite company. Many an over-refreshed ex-employee who decided to share his true feelings with the boss at the office party will testify sorrowfully to that. Under the influence of drink, when the socialised masks have been stripped away, the truth is often spoken. In vino veritas.
The problem for Gibson is that the charge of anti-Semitism is not a new one. Long before his production of The Passion, the director had been accused of anti-Jewish sentiment. And several reputable Gentile scholars have detected in Gibson's blockbuster life of Christ an anti-Semitic subtext. So where did his drunken words come from? Here's a good place to start: the father of the Braveheart actor was a well-known anti-Semite.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/67293.html