It turns out that Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite, according to screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who was hired by Gibson to write a Judah Maccabee biopic. From The Wrap:
Gibson's anti-Semitic obsession was a leitmotif of working on the film together at Gibson's homes in Malibu and Costa Rica, Eszterhas said.
"You continually called Jews 'Hebes' and 'oven-dodgers' and 'Jewboys.' It seemed that most times when we discussed someone, you asked 'He's a Hebe, isn't he?' You said most 'gatekeepers' of American companies were 'Hebes' who 'controlled their bosses.'"
The slurs continued, through their work:
"You said the Holocaust was 'mostly a lot of horseshit.' You said the Torah made reference to the sacrifice of Christian babies and infants. When I told you that you were confusing the Torah with The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, ... you insisted 'it's in the Torah -- it's in there!' (It isn't)."
And he said Gibson told him that his intention in making "The Maccabees" was "to convert the Jews to Christianity."
Before I met with Gibson about the Judah Maccabee project, I was also convinced that he is an anti-Semite. After I thought about our meeting for some time, I came to the conclusion that he is mainly mentally ill, and anti-Semitism is one manifestation of his psychological condition. I also found him highly amusing, as I detailed in this previous post. Most anti-Semites, in my experience, aren't as amusing as Gibson. I am still glad, obviously, that the Judah Maccabee movie seems to be derailed, at least with Gibson in charge of it.
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