Mel Gibson has opened a museum of Jewish History at his home in Malibu, California.
The exhibition, which is presently confined to Gibson’s garage but may expand into the adjoining utility room as his collection grows, will trace the history of the Jewish people from their humble desert origins to their current status as “global puppetmasters”.
As well as financing the project, thought to have cost between $50 and $100, Gibson is also serving as curator, having painstakingly sourced and arranged objects that tell the Jewish story from what he hopes will prove to be a fresh new perspective.
A press release for the museum’s opening states, “Most of what we hear about Jewish history is sad. It’s a history of oppression, persecution, and suffering. But my museum is all about telling a happier story.”
“For example,” the press release continues, “did you know that the Holocaust never really happened?!”
Gibson claims to have assembled an unprecedented wealth of historical artefacts, crayon drawings, and printouts of web pages proving that the Jewish people have enjoyed a remarkably untroubled existence throughout the centuries, benefiting from a seemingly endless run of good luck and the loving grace of all Catholics.
“Obviously this is about making amends,” Gibson writes in the same press release.
“Ten years ago I said some stupid things to a Jew who arrested me, and I want to make it up to him and all the Jews with this monument to their many, many, many happy centuries of highly profitable existence on earth and also their total domination of the entertainment industry and politics.”
The Museum of Jewish History in Malibu is free to enter and will remain open until the beginning of November, after which Gibson’s housemate plans to use the garage as a pop-up tattoo studio.