Mel Gibson will produce and possibly direct a biopic on Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.

One of the great warriors in Jewish history, Maccabbee led a popular revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV, seizing Jerusalem and reconsecrating the Temple in an event remembered by the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Gibson first spoke about the possibility of making the movie when promoting The Passion of the Christ in 2004, stating: “The story that has always fired my imagination is the Book of Maccabbees....The Maccabbees family stood up, and they made war, they stuck by their guns, and they came out winning. It’s like a Western.”

Joe Eszrterhas (Basic Instinct) will write the screenplay.

The news has been met with criticism by many Jewish community leaders, who point to Gibson’s alleged anti-Semitism as reason why the film should not be made.