Shylock? Sherlock? Oi Vey!

Mel Gibson dropped himself in the caca last week-end when a fun night out led to some offside banter with California police who had stopped him for speeding. It was the drinking part that, apparently, resulted in the commentary on current events to a Hebrew officer and ran him afoul of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League.

Coming, as it did, at a crucial time while the world watches Israel pummel Lebanon in self-defense against the Hezbolleh terrorists, and make frequent death-inducing forays into the Hamas hotbed of the Gaza Strip, the Mel-meister couldn't have picked a worse time to run down the children of Abraham.

Like a flurry of feathers raining onto his tarred carcass, the Hollywood establishment rose in righteous idignation to cast down this ultra-Christian and maverick film-maker. Such notables as the 'American Gigolo', Rob Schneider, who declaimed his "half-Jewishness", swore that he would never work with an anti-semite like Gibson in particular. Others followed the same suit, or pointed out that the anti-sermitism was foolish talk in light of the real sin - drinking and driving. The cop involved hoped that Mel had learned a lesson. Indeed Mel, just short of wearing sackcloth and ashes, and doing some public flagellation - pulled out all the stops of abject sorrow and regret - he may have done, as some observers indicate, his best acting ever.

But why would a 'good guy' like Mel pop off abut the Jews causing wars? Is he buying into the old horseradishes about the Jews financing wars? About American Jewish bankers funding the Russian revolution? About Adolph's idiot theories about the 'power of world Jewry' and the recent hubbub about the "Bilderberg Group" of 'supranational' leaders of industry, finance and government? Maybe, but in the US of A, you keep this stuff well-tamped under your fedora.

Have you noticed the accents of the Israeli 'spokespeople' on current news coverage - American, South African and Australian. No heavy eastern-european accents in that crew. Sabras they might well be, but they've spent most of their lives in other parts of the world. Of course the US is behind Israel all the way - it's hard at times to figure out who's leading, as both sides develop the same scripts at the same time. No surprise given the number of White House and Pentagon personnel with Jewish-sounding surnames. Probably a coincidence, however.

Mel should have known better, he's been in America long enough to have realized that the Aryan Nation are considered to be a terrorist organization, the KKK is a bad word, that murderer, thief and even pedophile are preferable to being called 'anti-semitic' and that, especially in Hollywood, you risk your career by getting on the 'nazi' side of anybody Jewish, even if they are non-practicing.

Maybe next time he'll do his drinking at home.