Jan. 4 1991 - Madonna insulted Jews by using a Bible reference to a "synagogue of Satan" in her re-mix "Beast Within"

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4— A charge that Madonna insulted Jews by using a Bible reference to a "synagogue of Satan" in a re-mix of her single "Justify My Love" seemed resolved with her quick denial of anti-Semitic intentions.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, had denounced on Wednesday the "Beast Within" mix of the song, one of several versions released by Warner Brothers.

In it Madonna quotes II Revelations 9: "I know your tribulation and your poverty and the slander of those who say that they are Jews, but they are not, they are a synagogue of Satan."

In a letter sent to Madonna's manager, Freddy DeMann, Rabbi Cooper said the Wiesenthal Center was outraged and wanted the quotation withdrawn. "The imagery of 'Jew as Devil' has led to untold violence against the Jewish people and slander against Judaism over the course of the last 2,000 years," the rabbi wrote.

He charged that the phrase could "contribute to those who seek to promote anti-Semitism" and said that neo-Nazi groups had used such imagery to promote racist ideology among youth.

Madonna responded in a statement Mr. DeMann sent to Rabbi Cooper: "I certainly did not have any anti-Semitic intent when I included a passage from the Bible on my record. It was a commentary on evil in general. My message, if any, is pro-tolerance and anti-hate. The song is, after all, about love.".

Rabbi Cooper said he took Madonna at her word.

"She was direct to the issue, she responded quickly and we're relieved that she did so," the rabbi said.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/05/arts/madonna-refutes-rabbi-s-accusation-of-anti-semitism-in-a-song-lyric.html