The critics of Mel Gibson's latest film were correct. It has triggered an outbreak of anti—Semitism, one which caught me completely by surprise. One of America's largest newspapers is now openly peddling noxious myths about Jews, stirring up old resentments with outrageous canards. The shameless newspaper in question is, of course, The New York Times.

In a remarkable display of multiple counts of journalistic malpractice, The February 26^th edition of the former newspaper of record informed its readership that Jews are so powerful in Hollywood, and so bent on controlling what the American public sees, that Mel Gibson's career could well be harmed, despite the overwhelming box office success of his new movie, The Passion of the Christ, reviewed here yesterday, and further commented upon today.

Relying on unnamed sources (a favorite practice of former Times rising star Jayson Blair), Sharon Waxman reported from Los Angeles that powerful executives were planning to place Mr. Gibson on a blacklist. Here are two different anonymous Hollywood powers:

"It doesn't matter what I say. It'll matter what I do. I will do something. I won't hire him. I won't support anything he's part of. Personally that's all I can do."

"I think I can live without him."

Anti—Semites throughout the world can be heard whispering, 'I told you so.' They have been telling us for years that Jews constitute a cabal which forces its own vision, for its own purposes, on the majority of Americans, regardless of the box office returns. Now they have The New York Times on their side.

Two sources whom the New York Times did name as angry at Gibson, according to 'an executive close to the two men,' Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, have repudiated the reporting of the New York Times. On its website the next day, the Times admitted that it 'should have checked directly with both men and given them an opportunity to comment on the executive's statement.'

The American Thinker is very interested in the reaction of Hollywood's establishment organizations to these reports of a new blacklist, based on religion, emerging in the entertainment industry. The Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild should certainly be asked about whether or not they will tolerate a new religious blacklist.

The Passion of the Christ has indeed triggered a lot of ugliness. Unfortunately for the critics of the film, they are all too often the ones doing harm to the cause of Jewish—gentile relations.