THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
'Passover Plot' Film Controversial
BY HERBERT G. LUFT
(Copyright 1976, JTA Inc.)
HOLLYWOOD — Wolf
Schmidt, the American
producer of the motion
picture "The Passover
Plot," in its entirety
photographed in Israel,
said that he has received
numerous letters and
more than 3,500 petitions
of protest from U.S. re-
ligious groups and Christ-
ian churches of various
denominations, including
one from the president of
the Synod of Bishops of
the Russian Orthodox
Church outside the Soviet
orbit.
The petitions call for all
Christians to unite in an
effort to prevent the re-
lease of the film because
it would call down the
judgement of God in
America.
Answering some of the
criticisms leveled against
the film before it has even
been released, Schmidt
said that "The Passover
Plot" is based on the book
of the same title by Dr.
Hugh J. Schonfield, a
world renowned expert
on the biblical era, who
spent 40 years research-
ing the life and times of
Jesus of Nazareth.
Schmidt reveals that
fundamentalists have at-
tacked him and "The Pas-
sover Plot," calling the
motion picture blasphem-
ous and an attack on God.
These charges are made
before anyone actually has
seen the movie, in which
Yeshua (his Hebrew name)
is a charismatic, non-
violent, purposeful and
loving man.
The picture isn't an at-
tack on God, but raises
certain questions about
the divinity of Jesus who
proclaims that he is br-
inging a new world into
being. Schmidt admits
that "The Passover Plot"
is controversial because
it reiterates that risks
must be taken in the
name of freedom.
"Marathon Man," the
Paramount film from the
best seller by William
Goldman, sets a young in-
tellectual in New York,
portrayed by Dustin
Hoffman, against a major
Nazi war criminal, the
enigmatic Christian Szell
who had functioned as a
chief doctor in the Au-
schwitz extermination
center.
Lord Laurence Olivier
is an unlikely choice for
the character of Szell but
he renders an extremely
effective portrayal and is
thoroughly- believable.
Also in the cast is Marthe
Keller,- a Jewish gal from
Switzerland, who was in-
troduced as a concentra-
tion camp survivor in the
French-made Claude
Lelouch movie "Tout en
Vie"; next she will be seen
in Paramount's "Black
Sunday," the forthcom-
ing picture dealing with
the activities of Arab ter-
rorists in this country.
Raphael D. Silver (son of
Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver)
and his wife, Joan Micklin,
producer and respectively
director of the much
acclaimed "Hester
Street," a dramatic ac-
count of life in the Jewish
ghetto of New York at the
turn of the century, join
forces again with "Bet-
ween the Lines," a comedy
about life on an under-
ground newspaper in Bos-
ton of today.
Carol Channing made a
surprise guest - appear-
ance at the Diamond
Jubilee of the Julia Ann
Singer pre-school center
serving Jewish children
in Los Angeles for 60
Production Down
in Israel: Writer
.
TEL AVIV (ZINS) —
Ever since the establish-
ment of the state of Israel
the proportion of workers
in the so-called "produc-
tive". branches of the
economy keeps falling,
according to Moshe Ater,
an economist writing for
the Hebrew daily,
Ha'Aretz.
According to Ater there
are about 1 million
bread-winners now
employed in Israel. Only
40 percent (400,000) are
engaged in producing
goods and their produc-
tivity is much smaller
than that of workers in
America or Europe.
Ater contends that the
productivity of the Israeli
worker is 60% less than
that of his American
counterpart, and 45 per-
cent less than that of the
European laborer. Ater
said these figures explain
why there is a shortage of
industrial workers.
years. Also on hand at the
swank Century Plaza
Hotel were Florence
Henderson, honorary
chairman of the center;
Israeli songstress Batya,
the Schlomo Bachar dan-
cers and the musical corn-
edy team of Susan
Cashman and John
Duarte.
Zev Braun, son of a
Chicago business tycoon
and philanthropist, who
broke into the movies
several years ago with his
Israeli-made Western,
"Madron," subsequently
built a Western street
and studio in the Holy
Land which was utilized
for the production of the
Gregory Peck picture,
"Johnny Two-Hat," 'and
who together with
Maximilian Schell as his
director produced the
anti-Nazi picture "The
Pedestrian," now an-
nounces the purchase of
Howard Fast's "Freedom
Road." It will be brought
to the screen to the tune
of $6 million.
Sir Lew Grade, recently
elevated to the title of
"Lord" Grade, head of
Britain's most active mo-
tion picture production
unit whose "Voyage of
the Damned" deals with
the plight of the SS St.
Louis in 1939, now an-
nounces filmization of
"The Sweetheart Deal,"
from the novel by Robert
Rosenblum, an expose of
the Mafia in America.
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LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I THINK ABOUT LUBAVITCH!
A Rabbi once wrote "I
like people who like people;
that's why I like
Lubavitch."
Nobody could say it bet-
ter; I agree one hundred
percent. The Lubavitchers
like people — all people, not
just their own kind. And
they prove it with actions,
not just with sub-
committees. Come to think
of it, that's probably the
reason why Lubavitch and
me are such a natural
"Shidduch," a good match.
Both of us like less and less
talking and more and more
doing.
Let me give you a perfect
example: A short while ago
(just over a year) I was out
in Ann Arbor with the
"Chabadniks" (that's what
they affectionately call the
Lubavitchers in Israel)
looking for a suitable house
for a student center. We fi-
nally settled on a beautiful
old mansion. The insides
looked like . . . well, I'd
better not say; you might
not pardon the expression!
But that was yesterday.
Today I am astounded
and ecstatic; astounded at
what's been accomplished
in so short a-time, and ecs-
tatic . . .
... at the elegance of Wal-
lace J. Newton's decor and
designing,
. . . at America's most
beautiful Mikveh,
... at the spotless Kosher
restaurant with delicious,
inexpensive food for stu-
dents and non-students,
. . . at the library, the
stereo, the lounge, the Shul
and the games room,
. . . and, most of all, I'm
ecstatic at the long-haired
"Chevra," our children and
grandchildren, relaxing,
reading, eating, talking
and listening, in every
corner of the Chabad
House.
You know what I always
say. After you get an
"Aliya" to the Torah, you
usually make a "Mee
Shebayrach" (a blessing,
and a contribution).
Lubavitch has given the
entire community an
"Aliya." It's time we all
gave them our blessings;
it's time we made a "Mee
Shebayrach." So join us at
the Ninth Annual Hassidic
Concert at Ford Auditorium
on Wednesday, December
1st, at 7:30 p.m. You'll be
supporting Chabad-
Lubavitch, and you'll have a
wonderful evening. Nathan
Rossen guarantees it!
Looking forward to se-
eing you all at the Concert,
Nathan P. Rossen
Adv.