Joe Eszterhas Death Threats Warrant Police Action
The feud between Mel Gibson and Joe Eszterhas over a movie that was never made is intensifying after Eszterhas received anti-Semitic death threats.
The conflict between the two began after a movie that was scheduled to be made fell through and the two sides have been blaming each other ever since.
Gibson maintains that the script was not up to par, while Exzterhas insists Gibson never intended to make a movie about Jews.
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After a letter surfaced that showed Eszterhas believed Gibson did not want make the movie because he does not like Jews, he began to receive death threats and was a victim other unpleasant acts.
"Many of Mel Gibson's supporters in chat rooms and on websites have posted anti-Semitic comments. I've received hate mail and death threats. I've had to ask our local police department to pay special attention to my family's safety," Eszterhas said in a statement.
"I call upon my fellow Catholic, Mel Gibson, to disavow himself from supporters who are anti-Semites," he continued.
Law enforcement officials are investigating the threats but so far have not named a suspect. Many of the threats happened over the internet, but a few had been sent to his house, Eszterhas' spokesman, Stephen Jaffe, told TheWrap.com.
"I can't comment because there's an ongoing investigation," Jaffe told TheWrap.com. "You're asking me were they direct or indirect? Both."
Eszterhas wanted Gibson to speak out against those who advocate for anti-Semitism and to remedy his own negative comments about Jews.
"I call upon him to apologize for his own anti-Semitic remarks," Eszterhas said, "I call upon him as a world-wide public figure to condemn anti-Semitism and the hatred and historical persecution of Jews."
Gibson's spokesman did not offer and immediate statement regarding the ongoing feud.
The fighting became public this year and has steadily intensified. The film in question was a project that involved Jewish heroism called "The Maccabees."
