The Passion of the Jew (Peanuts)

"The Passion of the Jew" is the third episode of the eight season of Peanuts. It aired on Fox on March 31, 2004.

Plot
Sally finally sees the blockbuster movie The Passion of the Christ and thinks that Lucy has been right about the Jewish people all along. After Snoopy, Charlie and Linus see the film, they angrily pursues Mel Gibson to get their money back.

Full Plot
Snoopy and the kids are playing shuttlecraft Spontaneity in the new minivan that Mr. Van Pelt has purchased. They go on an away mission and Lucy, as usual, gives Sally a hard time about being she and Charlie having a Jew uncle. Lucy again tries to inform Sally that in the movie The Passion of the Christ the Jews are the devil; she's seen the movie 34 times and she knows that the Jews had plenty of opportunity to save Jesus, but didn't. Snoopy, Charlie and Linus are tired of hearing them argue about the film and they decide to leave. Lucy accuses Sally of being scared to learn the truth about the Jews as they are evil, evil people. Sally debates and then decides to go and see the movie for herself. She endures the film and its depiction of the final hours of Christ's life in a state of constant horror and disgust. When she leaves the theater, she wonders how the Jews could have done that to Jesus, feeling enormous amounts of guilt mainly due to his membership of the religion in question.

He goes to Lucy and Linus' house and sadly tells Lucy, "you were right," a statement that Lucy relishes. Lucy prays to a picture of Mel Gibson (in Braveheart) and promises to organize the masses and spread the word about The Passion. Snoopy, Charlie and Linus decide they need to see the film, but their feeling about the film is simply that it sucked and they want their money back. Snoopy calls it a "snuff film" and the guy at the box office tells them to go see the producer of the film if they want to get their money back; meanwhile Sally is dreaming about killing Jesus which turns her into a nervous wreck. Snoopy, Charlie and Linus try to get in contact with Mel Gibson by calling a 1-800 number they have found on a website. Charlie dials the number which brings him in contact with someone who is running "Mel Gibson's The Passion Fan Club," and they want to know how to contact Gibson and get their money back. The guy on the phone, whom Charlie does not recognize as Lucy, isn't any help (as he insults Charlie over his inability to appreciate the movie, then hangs up after Charlie deduces its her) other than telling them that Mel Gibson lives in Malibu. Snoopy decides that he, Charlie and Linus need to go there, because it's no longer about getting their money back, it's about holding the filmmaker responsible, which Snoopy says is how they got their money back for BASEketball.

Lucy is dressing in a brown Adolf Hitler-esque uniform and getting ready for the meeting she is holding in her backyard. People have gathered in the yard to celebrate their rediscovery of their Christianity, but it is actually a club Lucy plans to use to follow in Hitler's footsteps and create a second Holocaust. Lucy suggests those in attendance each take one more person to see The Passion before they begin "the cleansing." Out in Malibu, Snoopy, Charlie and Linus make their way into Mel Gibson's mansion. They see the man himself, but Mel Gibson starts going crazy while telling them that he won't be giving them their ticket money back, as well as being an obvious masochist. Back in South Park, Sally talks with Father Maxi about Jesus, and makes up a fictitious friend in order to ask him how she can deal with her own guilt. Father Maxi suggests "atonement" for Sally's friend, which gives Sally an idea. Snoopy, Charlie and Linus manage to steal the money they want from Gibson's wallet and escape from the lunatic Gibson. In a rally outside the theater where "The Passion" is being shown, Lucy begins speaking (poorly pronounced) German and her crowd of followers mistake her words for Aramaic, the language spoken in the film. She gets the crowd to march after her and as she exclaims 1. "Es Ist Zeit zu säubern" ("It´s time to clean") the crowd replies "Wir müssen die Juden ausrotten!" ("We must exterminate the Jews!") 2."Es ist Zeit für Rache!" ("It is time for revenge") the crowd replies" Wir müssen die Juden ausrotten!" ("We must exterminate the Jews!")

Sally goes to her uncle's synagogue and suggests to the gathering that as the American government had for racial segregation and slavery, and the Germans had for the Holocaust, the Jewish community needs to apologize for the death of Jesus. All the Jews are outraged at the suggestion that they should apologize and are disturbed by the effect the movie is having on people, claiming it stereotypes Jews (ironically, every Jew in the temple has a big nose and speaks in a thick Yiddish accent). The rabbi suggests that "...we live in a rational society where people will realize it is just a movie." At that point, Lucy is seen outside the temple with her followers, goose-stepping down the street and chanting their German phrases. Meanwhile on the bus back from Malibu, Snoopy, Charlie and Linus realize that Gibson is chasing after the bus, recreating the famous truck chase scene from Mad Max 2, also honking his horn and shouting "Qapla!" (in reference to Star Trek) to get his $18 back. The Jewish congregation marches on the theater and demands that the movie be removed from the theater, while Lucy and her group come from the other direction. Their dialogue about the film is interrupted by the arrival of Snoopy, Charlie and Linus' bus being chased by Gibson. Gibson's tanker truck explodes in front of the theater. Lucy sees this and rushes over to offer the services of hwr following, but Mel has gone completely off the deep end. Seeing Gibson's behavior makes Sally wonder why she was freaked out by his movie. Gibson demands his money back only for Snoopy to refuse saying the movie sucked. Gibson counters by saying "You can't say my movie suck's or you're saying Christianity sucks." Charlie makes a speech about how while it is a good thing to want to be a better Christian you should follow the teachings of Jesus, not the way in which he died, stating also that focusing on his death was how people thought in the Dark Ages and hundreds of people were killed because of it. The townspeople realize that Charlie is right and promise to stop following Lucy. In the end Gibson shows his insanity again by gleefully defecating into Lucy's face. Sally realizes her mistake and returns to normal, having lost all respect for Mel Gibson.