DAVID KLINGHOFFER IS WORRIED:

Why Jews Should Worry About "The Da Vinci Code"
David Klinghoffer (The Jewish Week)

With the release of the Sony Pictures version of Dan Brown�s mega-selling �The Da Vinci Code� in two weeks, worries continue to mount among traditional Christians about both the book�s and the movie�s impact. Should non-Christians be concerned?

Yes, we should. Jews in particular need to be aware of the gift Brown has given, in all innocence, to anti-Semites.

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Besides highlighting the word "Zion" or "Sion," the two conspiracy theories [The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Brown's book] share an understanding of how to deal with ideas you disagree with. Rather than taking traditional Christian beliefs at face value and arguing against them (as I do in my current book, by the way), Brown portrays the religion itself as resting upon a conscious deception. That excuses him from having to make arguments at all.

Anti-Semites do the same thing. Rather than coming out honestly against Darwinism or Marxism or modernity in general, they concoct a story about Judaism as a lie and a conspiracy. "Protocols" remains a global phenomenon of staggering popularity, especially in the Arab world.

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