Passion plays and anti-Semitism - The Jewish Standard

Passion plays (cover story, May 21) perpetrate anti-Jewish bias through negative caricatures of Jews and the use of quotations from the Christian Bible that portray Jews as bearing the major responsibility for the death of Christ (deicide). The infection of the public psyche with resentment, prejudice, and even hatred of an innocent ethnic group is a significant source of anti-Semitism.

I strongly believe that the producers of such destructive displays should be required to distribute printed reminders (disclaimers) to their audiences that the description of the Passion in the Gospels and as depicted in the play contradicts the conclusion of Vatican II (Nostra Aetate) – that the Jews collectively at that time and to the present are not responsible for the murder of Jesus.

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