PAYING HIS DUES
Mel Gibson has released a carefully worded apology to the Jewish community accepting he made anti-Semitic remarks during his drink driving arrest last Friday, and asking for forgiveness. "There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark," said Mel. "I want to apologise specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge." He went on to explain: "I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologise directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words." The apology has since been accepted by America's Anti-Defamation League, with its national director, Abraham H Foxman, telling reporters yesterday: "This is the apology we had sought and requested. We are glad that Mel Gibson has finally owned up to the fact that he made anti-Semitic remarks, and his apology sounds sincere. We welcome his efforts to repair the damage he has caused, to reach out to the Jewish community, and to seek help. Once he completes his rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, we will be ready and willing to help him with his second rehabilitation to combat this disease of prejudice." (2 August, 2006, 8:17AM) SOURCE: IMDB