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ADL's Abe Foxman Accepts Mel Gibson Apology

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The national director of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League says his organization will accept, for now, the most recent apology that actor/director Mel Gibson offered for his anti-Semitic statements.

The ADL's Abraham H. Foxman confessed to skepticism, however, adding, ". . . at this stage, we'll take the high road and accept Mel Gibson's apology at face value."

Foxman, whose comments were published in Wednesday's New York Post, said he would like for Gibson to make an appearance to voice an apology in person.

"The very fact he issued another statement is a step forward," Foxman said. "The other one was total PR, and this one we'll accept - for now," Foxman wrote, adding, "These words are still from his handlers - Mel Gibson's words in the police blotter, we know those are from him."

Foxman wrote that Gibson was taught to hate by his father, a known Holocaust denier: "Since this hatred was learned, it can also be unlearned - but it's much easier to learn it than unlearn it."

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Gibson's second public apology came four days after he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. During that arrest, Gibson reportedly told an officer, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and then asked, "Are you a Jew?"

His latest apology went far beyond the first, which primarily addressed his behavior toward the deputies who arrested him. "There will be many in that [Jewish] community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable," his Tuesday statement said. "But I pray that that door is not forever closed."

In his Post column, Foxman had this to say about Gibson's statement: "It's un-American, it's un-Christian, and it's un-Hollywood."

"Mel Gibson is a man who has risen very high and now fallen very low. Sometimes it takes a traumatic fall to realize you have a problem," he added.

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