Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ generated tremendous controversy for months before its February 25, 2004 release. Of most concern was the depiction of Jews and of Jewish responsibility for the death of Jesus. The ICJS was among the first organizations nationally to sort through the barrage of media information, maintaining a comprehensive Web page that serves as a resource for information on the subject. Now that the movie is in wide release, the ICJS is studying the arc of the controversy from its earliest stages to the present.

Individually and collectively, our scholars have guided several programs designed for diverse audiences in response to con-cerns about the film. These programs have included a day-long group study session for Christian and Jewish educators, a regional study for clergy, a February 24th preview and panel discussion for 600 Jewish and Christian clergy and congre-gants, a workshop/consultation for national Hillel directors, and a teleconference for 200 rabbis sponsored by the Jewish Chautauqua Society. Rabbi Charles Arian, Dr. Rosann Catalano, and Dr. Christopher Leighton reviewed their reactions to The Passion on the PBS series Religion and Ethics Weekly and on the Marc Steiner Show. Their op-ed pieces appeared in The Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Jewish Times (click here for the article by Drs. Leighton and Catalano and here for the arti-cle by Rabbi Arian). Associate scholar John Roberts addressed the film's issues in a Web article for the Baptist Center for Ethics. Associate scholar Janis Koch wrote a comprehensive report summarizing ICJS sessions on The Passion for the Christian and Jewish Educators Study Group and the Clergy Colloquium.

For complete coverage of the ICJS response and a compre-hensive list of resources, click here.