In 2004, during "The Passion of the Christ" controversy, when several Shas members wanted to have the film banned in Israel for anti-Semitism, Benizri disagreed, and said that, "the Jews did kill Jesus", reportedly elaborating that Jesus was put to death according to Sanhedrin tradition: "They Jews took him up to a high roof, and threw him crashing to the ground. Afterwards, they hung his body on wooden beams in the shape of a 'T', but not, as the Christian legends say, that he was crucified. That's nonsense." Benizri also claims that Jesus' death was an internal Jewish affair. "What is there to deny? We're talking about a yeshiva student who left Judaism, and the Sanhedrin put him to death."