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.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 2
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
- 3
Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
- 4
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Jewish students, alumni decry ‘weaponization of antisemitism’ across country
-
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history
-
Opinion Why can Harvard stand up to Trump? Because it didn’t give in to pro-Palestinian student protests
-
Culture How an Israeli dance company shaped a Catholic school boy’s life
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.