The following letter was faxed to ADL National Director Abraham Foxman on January 26, 2004:
Mr. Abraham Foxman
National Director
ADL
823 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017
Dear Mr. Foxman:
Regarding the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” you were quoted on January 23 in the Los Angeles Times saying, “[Gibson is] hawking it on a commercial crusade to the churches of this country. That’s what makes it dangerous.”
This is very disturbing. To say the film is dangerous because the people who are previewing it are church-going Christians is an insult to practicing Christians. The subtext of this remark is that church-going Christians are latent anti-Semitic bigots ready to lash out at Jews at any given moment.
As president of the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, I am requesting that you make a public apology immediately. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
William A. Donohue, Ph.D.
President
