This day in WND History: Aug. 1

The Road Warrior: 'You a Jew?'

Aug. 1, 2006: Actor-director Mel Gibson issued an apology to Jews for anti-Semitic remarks made to an officer who arrested him on suspicion of drunk driving.

"There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark," Gibson said in a statement. "I want to apologize 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."

Gibson, driving a Lexus, had been arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Malibu, Calif.

The 50-year-old Oscar winner reportedly shouted: "All the wars in the world are caused by Jews," and then asked the officer, "You a Jew?"

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In his statement, Gibson said he recognized the magnitude of his actions.

"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 apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words."

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