Mel Gibson Festival Award Draws Fire From Czech Jews
This article is for subscribers only.
The Czech Jewish community protested against a decision by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to give Mel Gibson its top award for lifetime achievement, saying his work includes anti-Semitic views.
The 58 year-old actor and director will receive a Crystal Globe during the state-sponsored festival’s opening on July 4, according to organizers. The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic objected to the award, saying Gibson’s 2004 movie the “Passion of the Christ” portrays Jews as “evil and blood-thirsty,” it said in a letter to the festival.