MOVIES - June 16, 1989

Jerusalem’s High Court of Justice lifted an Israeli ban Thursday on the controversial movie “The Last Temptation of Christ,” stating that only an extreme attack on a subject justifies limiting free expression. Golan Globus, the film’s distributor in Israel, welcomed the ruling of the five-judge panel and said it will screen the movie next week in Tel Aviv. The Israeli Film Censorship Board had banned “The Last Temptation of Christ” in October, saying the movie by American director Martin Scorsese would offend Christians and violate Israeli law against harming religious feelings. The film portrays Jesus as weak-willed and confused about his divine mission. A hallucination sequence includes Jesus having sex with Mary Magdalene.