ADDENDUM::Pastor ‘scams’ Jewish clerics for film - www.jewishaz.com: Community

Earlier this year, Rabbi Leo Abrami, a Holocaust survivor who has served at Reform and Conservative synagogues throughout his decades-long career, was contacted by a man who said that he was making a documentary explaining some aspects of the Jewish faith. He offered to come to Abrami’s home in Sun City West and arrived with a cameraman. His visitor turned out to be Anderson, although Anderson identified himself as “an interested layperson” who was curious about Judaism, Abrami said. “I made the mistake of not Googling him before he came.”
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“The subterfuge that he used to get these interviews from us is beyond belief,” said Wiener, who noted that the man mentioned a PBS documentary. “When he used the words PBS to me, it sounded legitimate and I didn’t pursue it any further,” he said.

Mann said he feels “like it’s a responsibility to explain Judaism to anyone that’s interested” and is asked to do so frequently. “I’m very open about this and I don’t suspect that anyone has any ulterior motives,” he said. He was contacted this past summer and although he said he doesn’t remember the particulars, he remembers being told by his interviewers that they were working on a documentary about religion in general and that they wanted someone to speak about Judaism.
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They were all asked to sign a release to approve use of the material from the interviews. Now, all four are being used in promotional materials for “Marching to Zion,” an anti-Jewish film that is slated to be released in March 2015.
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In a promotional video, Anderson said that the film has two purposes: “to prove that the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people in the New Testament but that we as believers, we as Christians, are God’s chosen people. And secondly, to prove that the modern-day nation of Israel over in the Middle East is a complete fraud.”
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ADL informed the clerics that they should be aware of what the film is going to be about and if they have concerns about the film, that they should seek legal counsel, said Marilyn Mayo, a director of ADL’s Center on Extremism. “It’s important that the community be aware of Steve Anderson and who he is and what he’s really about and should educate itself about who is in their midst.”
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“The pastor misrepresented himself,” he said. “He was lying to me all along. ... I’m not letting it go, whenever I can I will fight back.”

Mann also said that he has spoken to his attorneys and will be “pursuing all legal remedies against all the parties who were involved in this heinous scam.”

Pastor ‘scams’ Jewish clerics for film - www.jewishaz.com: Community