LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Mel Gibson has hit back at critics who claim "The Passion," his self-financed film, is anti-Semitic.
He did it by fielding positive reviews by Jewish writers, the London Telegraph reported Wednesday.
Michael Medved, an orthodox Jew and one of the best-known film reviewers in the United States, went on television Tuesday to speak glowingly of Gibson, saying his film was by far the best adaptation of the Bible in Hollywood history.
The writer David Horowitz called it "an awesome artifact and an overpowering work".
Their verdicts are in marked contrast to earlier views. A leaked copy of the script had led to claims that the film is a modern version of the medieval Passion plays, which portrayed Jews as "Christ killers" and stoked anti-Jewish violence.
