ADL Study: ‘Passion Play’ (Still) Antisemitic
Did the world really need a research paper to determine that the once-a-decade “Passion Play” in the Bavarian town of Oberammergau, Germany, conveys anti-Jewish sentiments, as has been the general consensus since the show’s 1634 debut?
The Anti-Defamation League apparently thought so. The group commissioned the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJCR), which bills itself as “a network of academic and educational organizations that promotes mutual understanding between Jews and Christians,” to create the report, which was released this week.
A “scholarly team” of members examined the script for this year’s edition of the “Passion Play,” which depicts the final days of Jesus. On the plus side, according to the 16-page report: “(1) Jewish society in Jesus’ day is presented as variegated and vibrant; (2) Jesus is clearly shown to be a Jew.”
Now the bad news: “Jewish opponents of Jesus are unjustifiably depicted in such extreme terms as to risk impressing on the audience a negative image of the entire Jewish community. We also noted other negative features of the script.”
According to Ynet, which broke the story, researchers also explained that “’Passion Plays,’ which for centuries have expressed popular devotion to Jesus, ‘have also typically depicted the Jewish people as unfaithful to God and as “Christ killers,” a depiction that has contributed to hostility, sometimes violent hostility, towards Jews.’”
In case anyone mistook them for theater critics, its authors emphasized that the report “did not consider staging or theatrical factors.”
And if all of this sounds familiar, that’s because the same drama played out 10 years ago between the ADL and “Passion Play” organizers. In response to accusations of antisemitism, director Christian Stueckl changed the script in 1990, according to Bloomberg News. He’s still the director this year.
The new production premiered May 15. It will run for 102 performances and is expected to draw half a million visitors. “Performances take place every day except Monday and Wednesday through Oct. 3. Be sure to procure a blanket and a cushion,” Bloomberg News helpfully notes.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
