Blame it on the Jews!  Shakespeare warned us about the Jewish moneylender Shylock in — The Merchant of Venice — who wanted a pound of flesh as security for a loan to his anti-semitic tormentors.  The Jews run Hollywood!  Hollywood is not Jewish enough!  The Jews own the banks!  The Jews own Bill Clinton!  New York Jews are ruined by success!  The Jews rule America!  In today’s New York Times — published in Hymietown Central — there is an article eviscerating Bernie Maddoff’s Ponzi scheme of ripping off what comes across in print like a cabal of “money-hungry Jews.”


Here’s how the NYTimes connects Madoff to the world of Jewish money:

While many of the known victims of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities are prominent Jewish executives and organizations — Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Spitzers, Yeshiva University, the Elie Wiesel Foundation and charities set up by the publisher Mortimer B. Zuckerman and the Hollywood director Steven Spielberg….

But in the clubby world of Jewish philanthropy in the New York area, his increasing wealth and growing reputation among market insiders added polish to his personal prestige….

The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, for instance, reported that it had lost $5.7 million on an investment with Mr. Madoff that was made at the donor’s behest….

He used his support of organizations like the Public Theater in Manhattan and the Special Olympics to build a network of trust that began to stretch wider and deeper into the Jewish community….

At Oak Ridge Country Club, in suburban Hopkins, Minn., known for a prosperous Jewish membership, many who belonged were introduced to the Madoff firm by one of his friends, Mike Engler….

The quiet message became familiar in similar pockets of Jewish wealth and trust: “I know Bernie. I can get you in.”….

Some of the most prominent Jewish figures in high finance and industry began to court Bernie Madoff — and, through them, he reached a new orbit of wealth….

He could not have had a more effective recruiter than Jacob Ezra Merkin, a lion of Wall Street who would be president of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. Mr. Merkin’s father, Hermann, was the founding president of the synagogue and Herman Wouk, the author, wrote its constitution. As a direct descendant of the founder of modern Orthodox Judaism and a graduate of Columbia’s English department and Harvard’s law school, Mr. Merkin easily held his own in a congregation that included such luminaries as the author Elie Wiesel, the deal maker Ronald O. Perelman and Ira Rennert, a wealthy financier perhaps best known for building one of the biggest houses and compounds in the Hamptons.Mr. Merkin was fluent in Jewish and secular studies, as comfortable quoting Psalms as William James….

Behind these veils of paperwork and partnerships, Mr. Madoff’s reach now extended into the top tiers of Jewish finance and philanthropy, where he rubbed shoulders with corporate directors and prominent hedge fund managers. But there were wider worlds to conquer….

If the wealthy Jewish world he occupied was his launch pad, the wealthy promoters he cultivated at Fairfield Greenwich were his booster rocket….

What began as a quietly coveted investment opportunity for the lucky few in the Jewish country clubs on Long Island became, in its final burst of growth, a thoroughly global financial product….

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest of the world’s sovereign wealth funds, with assets estimated earlier this year to be approaching $700 billion, wound up in the same boat as Jewish charities in New York: caught in the collapse of Bernie Madoff….

Did Bernie Madoff purposefully go after the big money in the Jewish community — knowing full well the Torah and its mandate to invest and save and give back — and exploit the religiously mandated wants and needs of the Jewish community?

Or did Madoff merely offer opportunity and somehow the rich and powerful Jews just happened to find him? 

24 Comments

  1. Here is Frank Rich’s take on Madoff in the NYTimes this morning:

    Just when we thought that reality couldn’t hit a new bottom it did with Bernie Madoff, a smiling shark as sleazy as the TV host in “Slumdog.” A pillar of both the Wall Street and Jewish communities — a former Nasdaq chairman, a trustee at Yeshiva University — he even victimized Elie Wiesel’s Foundation for Humanity with his Ponzi scheme. A Jewish financier rips off millions of dollars devoted to memorializing the Holocaust — who could make this stuff up? Dickens, Balzac, Trollope and, for that matter, even Mel Brooks might be appalled.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21rich.html

  2. The ADL — “The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.” — is upset with the Madoff coverage:

    Anti-Semitic reaction to the Madoff scandal was prevalent on some of the most popular newspaper sites, blogs and message boards on the Internet. Most of the anti-Semitic comments tended to focus on alleged Jewish greed and thievery, as well as conspiracy theories linking financial losses to Israel. Extremists, including white supremacists and anti-Jewish conspiracy theorists also added their comments to the anti-Semitic mix.

    I wonder if the ADL is upset with the NYTimes coverage of Madoff?
    Is it possible to talk about Madoff and those he hurt without mentioning the Jewish community?

  3. I suspect they do not like any association with him at all.
    It might tarnish their investment reputation – they may feel that people will not invest with them because they invested with him. Investors also might assume that they also invest in a similar manner to him (and that they are dodgy too).
    Having said that I think anyone involved in this wants to create as big a gap as possible between themselves and him.

  4. Nicola —
    I think the ADL doesn’t want any of us talking about any of it because the whole Madoff scheme relied upon, and exploited, the stereotypical want for more money that we so often see played and portrayed in the media and on hate sites. It’s tough, though, to talk about Madoff — and how he was able to so ably execute a scam for so long — without looking at exactly the sorts of people and organizations that fed him their wealth. If you didn’t have at least $10 million in the bank, Madoff — in the beginning at least — wouldn’t even speak to you.

  5. I like what Michael Olesker wrote in an opinion column in the Baltimore Examiner:

    When Wall Street falls apart, do we see headlines noting, “Protestant Treasury Secretary Paulson.” When George W. Bush screws up a war or two, do the headlines ask, “Will all WASPs be blamed for Bush’s blunders?”
    Madoff’s a bad guy in any religion — but his religion has nothing to do with his scheming. It has to do with Madoff being a man without a conscience. And that’s a matter between him and the criminal courts – not between him and whatever version of God he might have.

    I even know a couple of people who lost money thanks to this scam.
    So, so sad.

  6. Gordon —
    The comments for that article are also interesting:

    “What an incredibly dumb piece!! Madoff is a Jew who USED his Jewish connections to steal from wealthy Jews. He is a crook. This shows how any connection, especially a religious connection, can be used to dupe anyone. Jews dupe Jews; Catholics dupe Catholics; Protestants dupe Protestants; Hindus dupe Hindus and muslims dupe everyone.”

    And this!

    “Considering that Jews are but 1 in 50 of US population, the disproportionate impact they have on American Finance is stunning and to suggest that this field is not of utmost importance to them is silly. And why am I not the least bit surprised that as a Jew you assume the posture of victim ?”

    Ouch!
    It’s a prickly topic.
    It’s pretty obvious that Madoff played on his religion to accumulate his false wealth and, like it or not, that makes his religion a centerpiece of the crime just as the Catholic church payoffs for child abuse centered on the Church and not the individual priests.
    What does the Torah teach about money? Isn’t a third to be invested in real estate? And a third saved? And a third donated, or something?

  8. I was watching a documentary of the history of New York real estate a while back, Gordon, and they were addressing the reason why so much prime NYC real estate was purchase by “The Jews” — and the answer was something about “the religious requirement to invest 30% of your money in property” or something. So the point was that, yes, the Jews own a lot of New York real estate but it’s not like it’s their “fault” because they are commanded to do that by their religion… I found the documentary both curious and fascinating for the need to even bring up the topic…

  9. Start stacking up the bodies.

    NEW YORK (AP) – The founder of an investment fund that lost millions with Bernard Madoff was found dead Tuesday at his Madison Avenue office of a possible suicide, authorities said.
    Authorities found Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet at 7:50 a.m. with no pulse at his office of Access International Advisors, located on Madison Avenue a couple of blocks from Rockefeller Center.

    http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D958K1E80&show_article=1

  10. Here’s another fascinating NYTimes piece on Madoff and “The Jews…”

    Here is a Jew accused of cheating Jewish organizations trying to help other Jews, they say, and of betraying the trust of Jews and violating the basic tenets of Jewish law. A Jew, they say, who seemed to exemplify the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes of the thieving Jewish banker.
    So in synagogues and community centers, on blogs and in countless conversations, many Jews are beating their chests — not out of contrition, as they do on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but because they say Mr. Madoff has brought shame on their people in addition to financial ruin and shaken the bonds of trust that bind Jewish communities.
    “Jews have these familial ties,” Rabbi Wolpe said. “It’s not solely a shared belief; it’s a sense of close communal bonds, and in the same way that your family can embarrass you as no one else can, when a Jew does this, Jews feel ashamed by proxy. I’d like to believe someone raised in our community, imbued with Jewish values, would be better than this.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/us/24jews.html

  11. Why is everyone quick to judge that Madoff ripped-off every Jewish customer of his.I know it is had to beleive that, so may-be he didn’t rip-off his true friends. Don’t be fooled by some so-called victims, like Spitzer, the Sheriff of Wall Street.Yet he let Madoff get away with what he did and surpossilly even became a victim himself.What a good cover, being a victim helps cover-up.Some of Madoffs friends who say they lost hundreds of millions, they and there people around them are to smart for that. If Madoff could be a crook why not his friends.Madoff could have just printed up stock portfolioes for his friends for free or a fee. Then with those fake portfolioes they could then go to banks and borrow our money to buy businesses, office-buildings, apartment-houses and waterfront houses for there enjoyment. Also they could sell there fake stock through Madoff and get cash from Madoffs true victims, who thought Madoff was buying stock for them.
    To top that off those so-called victims will collect some of there fake losses or all there fake losses from the U.S.A.Government. Wouldn’t it be nice to get 10% or 20% or more of a fake portfolio and then to be able to deduct the rest of your fake losses from your taxes.
    They had this failsafe plan in effect, of being victums, so they would be passed over as culprits.
    Steve

  12. That’s an interesting argument, Steve. Do you have any links or resources that tie the Jewish power in NYC into Madoff’s scheme? It seems it would be pretty easy to prove if there’s a legitimate paper trail beyond Madoff’s scheme.

  13. First, I didn’t say it was the Jewish power in NYC that was tied to Madoffs scheme.I said it was Madoffs friends, possiably.I do not have access to the recoards, but all the Government would have to do is check were the cash from the custermers came from and then see if any money given to Madoff looped back to that custermer or an aquantice of that custermer or if that money given out by Madoff ever came back to Madoff thruogh another third party. $50,000,000,000.00
    doesn’t dissapair.It could have been the same $2,000,000,000.00 just being circled around.Now that would be the scope of a schame involving people of there staturer.
    I do agree with you that this should be pretty easy to prove, so the other big question is why is our Government not looking.Is this biger that we all could imagen?
    I asked myself what would our Government do if all those names were Muslim or Arabic. and the banks wich claim were from Egypt and Iran and the likes? The F.B.I., C.I.A., Homeland security and every other Government agancy would be involved.We would be calling this Economic Terrosizem and all parties would be in jail, not just the one,Madoff, under house arrest.
    To me every one who has or had the power to stop or uncover this is a way guilty. Mostly people like Spitzer, who keept madoff protected. If he were just a fool he would not be involved, but Spitzer is and was no fool. He proved that buy uncovering other crimes on Wall Street.He and others like him in power gave Madoff and others a clear path to keep these schemes going.If you have any more doubts write and I will give my thoughts.

  14. Steve —
    It is strange Madoff was never jailed. I’m sure he’s more dangerous singing than keeping quiet and that fact that a deal appears to b simmering that if he pays everybody back then he’s even and no jail time will be impending.
    How did he swing that sweet deal?

  15. He can’t pay everyone back. He doesn’t have $50,000,000,000.00,and if he admits to less that will expose the kitting scheme.He will proberly end up dieing of cancer along with Sharpero and nobody dears go after Spitzer.Then everyone else will claim that they were truly a victim and our Government will pay off the ones involved and tell the rest they don’t have the proper documents.Now thats a sweet deal for all involved.
    By the way, how could his sins and brother be involved with the business and not know that stockes were not being purchesed to cover the amount of money surposerly involved.
    But you are right, Madoff will admit to something and our Government will act like that is it and sweep the real scheme under the rug.
    But what about the fact that if it were other people involved Spitzer would have uncovered it and even the inocent invester would now be in jail, or don’t you beleive that.Do the American people really think that if Muslims, or Russian were the magority of people involved, even Irish or Canadians that nothing would be being do by our Government or being said in the press?

  17. Dave,
    Just because 50 Billion can be raised as you state, if it still was not there to begin with then that is Kitting and every one involved should go to jail and have to forfit all moneys made off that scheme.Unless the Government is involved, then they say if you repay everything is kool. Go out and do it again,just don’t get caught this time.But if my friends and I did that we would all be behind bars for the rest of our lives and our childrens lives. Our children would also be behind bars and they would strip us of all our moneys even the money made leaglely.

  18. I agree ordinary people would be in jail, Steve, but the fact that Madoff isn’t, speaks to his immense power against the establishment.
    The authorities are terrified of him and they don’t dare treat him unkindly or they’ll be revealed as part of his scheme.
    So, the best way out, is to hush everything up, get everyone paid off/paid back and Madoff will disappear in the mist with the $15m his wife grabbed before he was arrested.

  19. David,
    I would like to understand what you mean by Madoffs immense power against the establishment? I would think by his not being in jail showes his immense power with the establishment.You say the authorities are terrrified of Madoff and are affraid to treat him unkindly or they will be revealed as part of the scheme. Do you agree with me that then the Government must be part of this Madoff scheme?Or at least people high up in our Government.
    The problem with only paying back what people lost doesn’t take into account that all those people didn’t really lose or the fact that this took away the American Dream for this generation.I and Americans like me were to cautius to put up our life savings to gamble if the economoy would stay aflot.But to put up fake securities, who would care. If the economey keept riseing,you would be able to take advantage of inflation but if the economey crashed as it did this Fall there would be no loss to that investor.This was a win win situation for Madoff and his friends.
    Do you think Madoff was the only one who thought this up or put it into play?It is possiable that Charls Schabe doesn’t buy every shair of lets say WalMart. Because they know not every one of there custermers would sell every one of there shairs in WalMart on any given day without another custermer buying WalMart. Then if and when WalMart goes under they would really make out because they would have kept the original buy price and would only have to pay pennies back.Are we being riped off by the whole system? What do you think Dave?
    The only thing to fear is fear its self as Roseavelt said. WE don’t have to fear the Devil,we have Jesus Christ on our side.

  20. I don’t know the answers to all your questions, Steve. I think we just ned to look at what’s happening. Madoff stole $50b and yet he sits free in his penthouse apartment. Why? When the mainstream investigative press begins to try to start answering that question, things will begin to unravel. I don’t think we’ll ever know the complete truth.

  21. Dave,
    Thanks for your replies. This is the U.S.A., we should know the compleat truth. Otherwise why should an True American ever again buy stocks that may or may not be there.I didn’t expect you to have answeres, that proves what I say may all or patrly be true. What I am tring to do is get others involved so the mainstream press will start to print these questions, for the safty of True Americians.
    I don’t know who you are, that is if you are cappable to get to the mainstream press, but I do like how you know that babies are being sold all around the world and our Government doesn’t care and it is not because they don’t know about it. It is because they are playing dumb, just as they will claim about this True Madoff Scheme.

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