RSS Feed
New York - Was it Necessary For Jews to Demonize Madoff to Such an Extent? |
|
| |
Text Size
|
He of all people should have retained some sense of proportion, having lost things of much more value than his money. Yes I know, Madoff was your friend, you trusted him with your money and he abused that trust, as he abused the trust of so many others. But why exactly is that worse than so many other corrupt embezzlers? Is it just because he managed to steal so much more? Because he made away with your confidence in such a consummate manner?
But what really gets my goat is that all those vultures hovering around, looking to take one last swipe at the Madoff carcass seem to be members of his own tribe. And it was as if they wanted everyone to know that.
Look how we, the Jewish people, consign our former brother to the eternal hell of the federal penitentiary. I'm surprised no-one has yet performed a herem (excommunication) on Madoff, with a shofar and black candles, and invited Fox News to broadcast it live.
The motivation here is clear. Madoff is the worst thing to happened to American Jewry since the Rosenbergs and now everyone has to scramble like crazy to get a foothold on the slippery slope because the alternative is almost unthinkable: an undercurrent of anti-Semitism the like of which American Jews haven't experienced for eight decades.
Is that really the case? Is the continuing success of the largest, richest and most influential Jewish community in history really so precarious that one mega-crook can bring the whole edifice crashing down? Or is it just the self-confidence of certain individuals that is so shaky?
What are we afraid of when we speak about anti-Semitism? There is the crude baiting on the outer reaches of the Internet where Jews were blamed for the global financial calamity over a year ago - long before anyone outside the Palm Beach playgrounds of the mega-rich had ever heard of Madoff.
No one was surprised to read those screeds masquerading as journalistic exposes, which claimed to reveal how billions of dollars were sent to unnumbered accounts in Israel hours before venerable banking institutions crashed. Some of us even found grim satisfaction in the fact that the usual suspects were at it once again, peddling the Protocols of the Venture Capitalists of Zion.
That is the reassuring side of anti-Semitism, catering to a fringe element of conspiracy theorists, with which no respectable person would openly wish to be associated.
Then there is the anti-Zionist politicized brand, in which verbal and physical violence towards Jews is directly connected to the level of conflict on Israel's borders. Of course we have seen a lot of that over the last year but it had little to do with the fall of Wall Street titans. No, those who shudder at the Madoff saga and other fresh stories of Yiddishe shysters are worried about a more insidious and subterranean Judophobia, one they fear never really went away.
It is the feeling that everyone around you, ostensible friends, work colleagues, the people you meet every day, are looking at you, smiling, saying the right words, but actually thinking something different. If you could only get inside their minds - are they saying to themselves, "Those Jews, we can't really trust them can we? They are clever and creative and amusing and useful, very good with money of course, but where do there loyalties lie in the end, what are their real morals? Is Madoff just an aberration? Were there other smaller Madoffs?"
There is something particularly odious about the nagging suspicion that Jews always know how to exploit a situation. We hate to think that our non-Jewish friends and neighbors are thinking that of us, but on the other hand, among ourselves, we quite like that image of ourselves. History handed us lemons and we made lemonade.
And Bernie Madoff? He's just a crook.
More of today's headlines
“New York - The half-percent sales tax increase Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to balance the city budget just passed the Senate 43-19. The bill had been defeated by...”
New York - Senate Back to Business Passes Sales Tax Increase
New York - Real Estate Bubble About To Crash More
Total26
Read Comments (26) — Post Yours »
1
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:11 AM Ruchel Says:
Absolutely. A GANOFF should never be protected
2
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:11 AM Anonymous Says:
I am amazed how you can attempt to minimalize the damage done by madoff, and swing the issue into one of fearing the non-jewish response. he destroyed many charities, wiped out funds meant for hospitals, social work projects and educational institutes. he indeed is the arch fiend of the modern world, the ultimate wall street run amuck story. he deserves total rejection by the entire world community.
3
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:21 AM i agree Says:
Very well said!
4
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:20 AM Anonymous Says:
He is so much more then a crook. stealing bread to feed your family is wrong but argumentatively understandable. Stealing with an insatiable greed is evil Mr. Anshel Pfeiffer.
5
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:16 AM Anonymous Says:
Now that BM has been sentenced, its about time to put all this behind us.
maybe all the people who weree scammed should bgin to search their own greedy hearts and see where they all went wrong. It's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
If only all these so called WISE chachoms only did their homework properly, and took nothing for granted, they would all be in a better position today. This includes all these CHOCHAMS who invested millions of charity funds.
BASIC INVESTMENT 101....LET THE BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!
As I have posted in prior posts, my Father, Zt"l, only went to "9th" grade. Tasdught me to split all my money into no greater than wfhat each bank account was insured for. If I had more than that insured by the investment house, "BUY AN INSURANCE POLICY."
Their is a gemhorra on these principiles, which I will not go into.
So lety all the people whose greedy hearts wre hung out to dry, go forward, and look at themselves, and take thet "PERSONAL RESPONIBILITY" for themselves.
Let everyone examine themselves, and lok to Hashem, for guidance!
6
Jul 10, 2009 at 09:22 AM Anonymous Says:
What an awful sick outlook on life. Has this author considered the aged widows and retirees who now find themselves without housing and FOOD! These are people who prepared for their senior years, saved, scrimped, and invested with someone who generated trust. This group have had their golden years rust! Aside from the immeasurable damage and misery that this scoundrel visited on others in order to fund his family's lavish lifestyle, he has further polluted the image of the "religious" Jew. To not condemn this man in the most severe terms is to send a horrendous message to our children of what is normative or acceptable criminality. It is not shocking for an Haaretz writer to have so totally confused right and wrong!
7
Jul 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM joe Says:
“ He is so much more then a crook. stealing bread to feed your family is wrong but argumentatively understandable. Stealing with an insatiable greed is evil Mr. Anshel Pfeiffer. ”
this low life BM also stole charity money. let us not blame the victims. if we are sold a chicken which the Rabbi said was kosher are we at fault. the rabbi and the seller of the chicken must be condemed
8
Jul 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM Anonymous Says:
he is a sick man but we are not g-d and most people who said bad thing in public about him is wrong and most of them if not all rip of from the gov. or some one else still $1 dollor your not better [he was just smarter]thats what i learn from the torah.
9
Jul 10, 2009 at 10:37 AM Rippin Pinchas Says:
"Madoff is the worst thing to happened to American Jewry since the Rosenbergs"
I am not sure to what extent the author is trying to make a comparison, but the evidence at the Rosenbergs' trial was basically nil. They were Jewish and communists, so they were cannon fodder for the prosecution and the government. In other words, they were fried without evidence. Although in the 1990's it became clear that there was evidence of spying, the prosecution never presented that evidence at trial.
Conversely, Madoff pleaded guilty to stealing funds. Not only that, his "company" never produced a single statement showing where he invested the money.
"Is the continuing success of the largest, richest and most influential Jewish community in history really so precarious that one mega-crook can bring the whole edifice crashing down?"
Yes. If you go back to 1938 in France with Herschel Grinspayn you will see where that lead to. Before the uneducated modern orthodox zionists attack me, I do not blame the Jews for Kristalnacht. However, there is an obligation not to be Megara the goyim, which Grynspan did and Madoff may have done.
I can tell you many stories how 1 person can make a huge difference. Even if he is only 1 person. Look at this week's parsha. In the words of R' Schach Zt'l, if one man can kill 6 million then 1 man can bring 6 million closer to Hashem.
10
Jul 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM crown sexton Says:
after reading all these posts i would love for everybody to ask there rabbi the following question . what is the status of Mister Madoff at the moment. please ask the following question . is your blood redder then his , for those who don't understand i will be more specific . what is the Jewish law as follows , if someone comes over to you and tells you to murder Mr. madoff at the moment and if , not you yourself will be killed on the spot what are you to do. after you get your answer then maybe some of the posters here might change there stripes about what they write . it is very easy to sit back and post all your feelings on this matter weather you were personally hurt or not , but as religious Jews we must learn to forgive and forget so that hakodosh boruch hu does the same thing for us .
11
Jul 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM Anonymous Says:
Is there too much press attention about Madoff? I guess the press will probably continue to debate this.
12
Jul 10, 2009 at 11:56 AM Shaul in Monsey Says:
While Madoff's victims were enjoying superlative returns on their investments for years, they didn't question a thing. 60, 70, 80 percent and no one said boo! A fool and his money are soon parted needs editing, because in this case the fools were getting paid and it took time for the facade to crumble. I don't see Madoff's victims in any worse light than the victims of any other fraud or scheme. But for the scope and intensity, Madoff was nothing more than three card Monty in a suit, and his victims were the idiots standing around the table watching in amazement.
13
Jul 10, 2009 at 12:36 PM anonymous Says:
If thte author of the article would have read foreign press[Italian and German which I read] than he would have refrained from writing his article . The extent Madoff is described and the effect of his fraud is immense. We don't know to what an extent antisemitic groups will use him as a cudgel to fire up more hatred against Jews. Some of your writers express very well besides millionaires [who should not be defrauded] there were others who lost their entire savings, Jews and Goyim and the ultimate statement will be "it is the Jews Madoff"
14
Jul 10, 2009 at 12:29 PM Anonymous Says:
Did Avi Shafran write this?
15
Jul 10, 2009 at 12:38 PM David Says:
Interesting that you accuse your fellow Jews of feigning outrage at a Jewish criminal for base reasons. May I remind you that our own tradition (and not the ravings of a few anti-Semites) makes us responsible for each other. May I also suggest that the outrage, indignation and sense of betrayal expressed by Jews about Madoff may be entirely genuine, and not due to some fear of anti-Semitism. Finally, I'd like to point out that it is you-- not us-- who denigrate your fellow Jews, by impugning our motivation. Everyone knows Madoff's motivation was bad; what gives you the right to assume that mine is?
16
Jul 10, 2009 at 12:45 PM jew Says:
it is very sad to see a person locked away for 150 years so long of a time i saw a program and the host said and the other madoff got 150 years and every applaud that was sad to see the artarticle was written wellan that is the truth
17
Jul 10, 2009 at 01:35 PM tzoorba Says:
Bernie's actions were in no way Jewish in that he violated the Torah in his business and his personal life.
He is not an example of the standard Jew.
Jews want to distance themselves from this evil which the world is labeling as Jewish.
18
Jul 10, 2009 at 01:59 PM totosha Says:
Finally, some words of sense. Yes, Madoff had a huge con game going. Certainly not the first one ever. If it was really investing in stocks as supposed, these folks would have seen a legitimate loss of some 80-90 pct of their capital by now.and there would be no conman to blame - nobody, but their own stupidity and greed for putting all their eggs in the proverbial rotten basket. Much of the blame lays indeed with people not using their brains and not managing their risks at all.
Some time ago, I was trying to put together a fund concentrating on trading options, and I was trying to work with the same type of investors as madoff's crowd. My problem was that I was very upfront about risks and I warned potential clients that while we do our best to get the 30-50 pct annual return not tied to the markets, the risks are still very high. And they chose to go with a different guy that was touting "low risk" real estate stuff, even though he was lying through his teeth. Guess what - ESH gone bankrupt outright, and the rest of their "real estate" portfolio isn't looking much greater, while if they went the "high risk" upfront road, backtracking the proposed options strategy wouldve had them with a nice 60% a year return, all cash and liquid. Just to make a point how easily people fall for the smooth talking liars.
19
Jul 10, 2009 at 02:41 PM totosha Says:
Finally, some words of sense. Yes, Madoff had a huge con game going. Certainly not the first one ever. If it was really investing in stocks as supposed, these folks would have seen a legitimate loss of some 80-90 pct of their capital by now.and there would be no conman to blame - nobody, but their own stupidity and greed for putting all their eggs in the proverbial rotten basket. Much of the blame lays indeed with people not using their brains and not managing their risks at all.
Some time ago, I was trying to put together a fund concentrating on trading options, and I was trying to work with the same type of investors as madoff's crowd. My problem was that I was very upfront about risks and I warned potential clients that while we do our best to get the 30-50 pct annual return not tied to the markets, the risks are still very high. And they chose to go with a different guy that was touting "low risk" real estate stuff, even though he was lying through his teeth. Guess what - ESH gone bankrupt outright, and the rest of their "real estate" portfolio isn't looking much greater, while if they went the "high risk" upfront road, backtracking the proposed options strategy wouldve had them with a nice 60% a year return, all cash and liquid. Just to make a point how easily people fall for the smooth talking liars.
20
Jul 10, 2009 at 02:41 PM Gadolwannabe Says:
The real reason for the attack on Bernie is that he had many co-conspirators who are members of the Tribe; i.e., Merkin, Shapiro, Chais, YU, Haddassah, etc. They were not innocent victims. They knew what Bernie was up to and let it ride because they were making big money. Isn't it strange that no heads rolled at YU and Haddassah?
21
Jul 10, 2009 at 03:39 PM Anonymous Says:
“ after reading all these posts i would love for everybody to ask there rabbi the following question . what is the status of Mister Madoff at the moment. please ask the following question . is your blood redder then his , for those who don't understand i will be more specific . what is the Jewish law as follows , if someone comes over to you and tells you to murder Mr. madoff at the moment and if , not you yourself will be killed on the spot what are you to do. after you get your answer then maybe some of the posters here might change there stripes about what they write . it is very easy to sit back and post all your feelings on this matter weather you were personally hurt or not , but as religious Jews we must learn to forgive and forget so that hakodosh boruch hu does the same thing for us . ”
Should we forgive and forget the man who rapes ch'v your daughter? should we forgive and forget the man that ch'v burns your house down with all your belongings? I do not think so, you need to understand that there has to be a balance of chesed and gevurah for this world to exist.
We are not busy wondering what non-jews think, we have a clear halacha in shulchan aruch that eisav soneh es yackov, read any jew related news or article comments and you can see it clearly for yourself. It is only hashem who protects us from harm when we do mitsvos, and its no mitzvah to forgive and forget Mr Bernie Madoff one of the biggest ganovim who has destroyed countless families and lives.
22
Jul 10, 2009 at 03:39 PM Anonymous Says:
“ after reading all these posts i would love for everybody to ask there rabbi the following question . what is the status of Mister Madoff at the moment. please ask the following question . is your blood redder then his , for those who don't understand i will be more specific . what is the Jewish law as follows , if someone comes over to you and tells you to murder Mr. madoff at the moment and if , not you yourself will be killed on the spot what are you to do. after you get your answer then maybe some of the posters here might change there stripes about what they write . it is very easy to sit back and post all your feelings on this matter weather you were personally hurt or not , but as religious Jews we must learn to forgive and forget so that hakodosh boruch hu does the same thing for us . ”
Should we forgive and forget the man who rapes ch'v your daughter? should we forgive and forget the man that ch'v burns your house down with all your belongings? I do not think so, you need to understand that there has to be a balance of chesed and gevurah for this world to exist.
We are not busy wondering what non-jews think, we have a clear halacha in shulchan aruch that eisav soneh es yackov, read any jew related news or article comments and you can see it clearly for yourself. It is only hashem who protects us from harm when we do mitsvos, and its no mitzvah to forgive and forget Mr Bernie Madoff one of the biggest ganovim who has destroyed countless families and lives.
23
Jul 10, 2009 at 04:19 PM A Gitter Yid,,,, Says:
I would like to know why would anybody feel sorry for this crook. Especialy when his comments was always against the Chasidim that they are not honest when it comes to business.. Mr. Madoff just eat you own madication.
24
Jul 10, 2009 at 04:24 PM Anonymous Says:
This is all hasgacha pratis (divine providence) yes BM stole the money but NOT without Hashem giving HIS final okay. Nothing at all happens in this world without Hahsem's complete undenyable and unequivocal agreemnent!! Therefore there is a lot more to this story then meets the eyes which we may not find out for many years or perhaps not until the coming of Moshiach. One thing remains however certain is that our Torah obligates EVERY jew to love one another and to forgive. BM also has the same rights and chances to be forgiven at ANY time including and not limited to YUM Kippur!! So please let's daven for all those people who lost,daven for the damages and Chillul Hashem and daven for BM who is a yid and has the same rights to be forgiven. Haashem rules the world and none of us can pass judgement on ANYONE!! But we can daven to Hashem who will ultimatly show us that everything happenas for a good reason.
25
Jul 12, 2009 at 05:03 AM avf Says:
Sure he is a very cold hearted rasha but the loose of your money and proverty is 100% GODS decision and that is only between you and God.
26
Jul 13, 2009 at 11:28 AM Anonymous Says:
if only we were as angry about x offenders as we were at madoff