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THE CHECKMATE COLLECTION
30
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1988
'Last Temptation'
a time that their following is
waning. Jerry Falwell has
seized on the issue and
preaches about teaching
MCA and Universal a lesson.
But they should be more con-
cerned with the womanizing
of the leadership than with
the fictionalized fantasies of
Jesus. One begins to wonder
about church heads who pro-
duce scandals as often as
prime-time soap operas.
On the artistic front, the
remarks by talented Italian
director Franco Zeffirelli have
been very disturbing. He
wants to distance his recent
work from Last Temptation in
the Venice Film Festival
without having even seen the
film. One could imagine that
the fundamentalists would
have orchestrated a campaign
against his Romeo and Juliet
because of the depiction of sex
among unmarried youth. His
printed denials about his
alleged anti-Semitic remarks
make me believe that "thou
does protest too much." But
he will have to face the wrath
of the Directors Guild of
America, who have been
unified in their support for
Scorsese and Universal and
critical of those cowardly
theater chains who have
refused to exhibit the picture.
It's these critical issues of
freedom of speech that are of
major concern in this con-
troversy over The Last Temp-
tation of Christ. Scorsese had
a difficult time even raising
funds for this film. Hopefully,
there will not be a lasting
chilling effect for the funding
of other controversial topics.
In a pluralistic society, artists
need to have an open at-
mosphere to achieve their
best creative works. Univer-
sal and Cineplex-Odeon
should be congratulated for
backing Scorsese when other
funding sources withdrew.
And Universal's decision to
release the film a month
earlier and allow the public to
judge the film on its own
merits is equally commen-
dable. The critical response
has been justifiably com-
plimentary. Ironically
enough, all this publicity will
bolster ticket sales for
Universal's latest release. But
I doubt that Universal of-
ficials needed this kind of
tzorot to mount a successful
release of their picture.
For American Jews, it's
been a sad lesson in learning
about the continued existence
of traditional anti-Semitism.
The best way to counter these
attacks is at the box office.
Buy a ticket to see the film
and judge the film on its own
merits. We know all too well
about societies that burn
books because of their titles.
Buying a film out of circula-
tion is just a more sophisti-
cated way of suppressing new
thoughts. Our democracy is
premised on the free ex-
change of ideas and the con-
tinuation of American
Jewry's freedom in this coun-
try goes hand in hand with
the protection of this precious
First Amendment right. Sup-
port the American way by go-
ing to the movies.
"°"•mmi
NEWS
11■•■■
Dukakis Wants
USSR To
Remove Barriers
New York (JTA) — Demo-
cratic presidential candidate
Gov. Michael Dukakis of
Massachusetts called for the
lifting of cultural and emigra-
tion barriers to Jews in the
Soviet Union. Dukakis'
message was conveyed by his
Middle East and Jewish af-
fairs adviser Hyman Book-
binder, a former Washington
representative of the
American Jewish Committee,
at a City Hall memorial ser-
vice last week.
The service was held for the
murdered Yiddish poets, a
group of 24 Jewish writers
and dramatists in the Soviet
Union who were killed on
orders of Soviet dictator Josef
Stalin on August. 12, 1952.
Dukakis' entreaty accom-
panied those of Jewish cultur-
al leaders at the ceremony
organized by The Workmen's
Circle, the 88-year-old Jewish
fraternal organization which
annually commemorates the
event.
The ceremony in New York,
held in the chambers of the
Board of Estimate at City
Hall, was played out simul-
taneously in 18 American
cities in a campaign organiz-
ed by the National Jewish
Community Relations Advi- <
sory Council.
Socialist Croxi
Berates Shamir
Rome (JTA) — Socialist Par-
ty leader Bettino Craxi has
launched a sharp attack
against Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
The former two-time Italian
premier accused Shamir of
Shortsightedness, extremism
and fanaticism for his tough
stand against the Palesti-
nians in the Israel-
administered territories.
In a statement published
Aug. 12 in the Italian Press,
Craxi, long known as a friend
of the Palestinian cause, also
noted that Israel had a right
to be recognized.