EXAMINING 'OLDEST OF ALL HUMAN BIGOTRIES'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

SHORTLY AFTER the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an Egyptian cab driver told documentary filmmaker Marc Levin that no Jews were killed at the World Trade Center because they were all warned not to go to work that day.

This widely spread fallacy got Levin (``SLAM'') thinking about the odious uptick in anti-Semitic rhetoric that has occurred since that awful day. Many who believe the WTC lie argue that it was predicted in ``The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'' the book made up by members of the Russian secret service in the late 19th century. It's allegedly the minutes of a meeting held by Jewish power brokers, in which plans for world domination were laid out. Ridiculous as it is, ``Elders of Zion'' has lent justifications to pogroms, Holocausts, Islamic paranoia and everyday stupid prejudice ever since.

So Levin made ``Protocols of Zion,'' in which he studies a wide, raucous array of current bigotries while debunking passages from the book itself. The film overwhelmingly exposes anti-Semitism for the hateful idiocy that it is. Levin, a secular Jew from New Jersey, makes an effort to include some articulate spokesmen for Palestinians' issues with Israel and finds a few right-wing Jews who sound just as intolerant as their sworn, Middle Eastern enemies.

For the most part, though, ``Protocols'' is a guided tour of what's been called the ``oldest of all human bigotries.'' Levin boldly and provokingly goes into the lairs and radio studios of neo-Nazis and prison yards where both the African-American and white supremacist factions buy what's in the book. Footage from overwrought Arab television dramatizations of ``Elders of Zion'' appear, and much heartfelt discussion is built around the release of Mel Gibson's ``The Passion of the Christ.''

There is much more, from interviews with Holocaust survivors to some comic relief as successful Jews in the entertainment industry dodge Levin's attempts to meet with them. The director also includes a lot of his personal history, many scenes with his father and ancestral inquiry going further back. Considering the vast scope and urgency of the film's subject, this seems a little narcissistic at first. Yet the director ultimately makes of his own family the most eloquent riposte to the lies of the haters.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

PROTOCOLS OF ZION - Three stars

(Not rated: racism, language)

Director: Marc Levin.

Running time: 1 hr. 35 min.

Playing: Town Center 5, Encino; Music Hall, Beverly Hills.

In a nutshell: Documentary about both the infamous, anti-Semitic book and the post-9/11 rise in anti-Jewish propaganda is also something of a personalized study of director Levin's connection with his heritage. Mostly sad, but not devoid of hope.