Bernard Madoff $50 billion Ponzi scheme ignites outpouring of anti-Semitism online

[ejbr]

Source: New York Daily News

By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, December 19th 2008, 1:32 PM

Bernard Madoff's bust for perpetrating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme has stoked up the anti-Semites - never mind that his biggest victims were other Jews.

The Web has been deluged with the brayings of bigots about "the greed and corruption of the Jews," the Anti-Defamation League reported Friday.

"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," said the league's Abe Foxman.

"Nowadays, the first place Jew-haters will go is to the Internet...."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/12/19/2008-12-19_bernard_madoff_50_billion_ponzi_scheme_i.html

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As a non-Jew, I am well aware of the bigotry that exists against Jews. However, to have these assholes come out of the woodwork over this travesty is just another example of how stupid people are. Bush & Cheney's looting of the treasury are probably not even on these dimwits' radar. All the WASP white collar criminals never existed, I guess.

True, this crime is mind-boggling, but I bet you there are many non-Jews who would have JUMPED at the chance to attempt to pull this off and for these jerks to tacitly not acknowledge this pisses me off.

[jgraz]

1. Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is strategic

Get the raving bigots out in front and then paint anyone calling for reform as an anti-semite.

[cali]

7. yeah, it's all a plot by the evil jews

they maneuver and manipulate the bigots so they can run around calling innocent people anti-semites. Do you realize how fucking moronic you sound?

[jgraz]

12. DId I say Jews? No, I don't think I did.

I do, however, think this is an established tactic of right-wing corporatists. If you oppose the war, you hate the troops. If you oppose bigotry, you hate Christians. If you oppose torture, you hate America.

How long do you think it will take them to start accusing anyone fighting corporate greed of being an anti-semite?

[cali]

15. you didn't have to.

I'm really tired of seeing people who condemn every other type of bigotry but insist that anti-semitism doesn't really exist. fuck that.

[jgraz]

17. Did I say anti-semitism doesn't exist? No, I don't think I did.

If you're looking for a fight, cali, please go look somewhere else.

[ejbr]

8. Your point seems unsound,

considering there was no mention of reform in the requoted responses. HOWEVER, I did not get a feel for the number of posts which means that the story could be overblown.

[jgraz]

19. Time will tell.

My bet is that the corporatists will find a way to paint all pro-reform progressives as anti-semites.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. And Rick Warren Says We're Going To Burn In Hell

I guess things are going to be a little rough for us in the near future...

[izquierdista]

3. Yes, but are they GAY Jews?

I think your post is out of turn. This is the week for whining about anti-GAY bias. If you want to whine about anti-Semitism, you'll have to take a number and wait your turn.

On edit: I wish people who admire Dr. King would judge people on the "content of their character" not whether they are a gay or Jewish character.

[nradisic]

4. Maddoff is a Jew who fleeced mostly Jews...

I am sorry, but the Jewish community screams anti-semitism as soon as anyone Jewish is cast in a bad light or criticized. It has become like crying wolf. Bernie Maddoff is a Jew who fleeced his own....'nough said.

However, Maddoff's actions and fraud do nothing to not help out any Jewish cause whatsoever...criticizing him is not anti-semitism, so lighten up folks...

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Google on "madoff greedy jew"

40,900 hits.

Oy gevalt.

[cali]

9. sick.

the number of people here who have no problem with anti-semitism is just sick. I'm not jewish but I do know that anti-semitism is as horrible as any other form of bigotry.

[aquart]

11. Unimpressively disingenuous. Really.

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. Hatred of all types will increase drastically as we head into depression.

It's the sad truth.

[Doctor_J]

10. Neil Bush's repeated fleecing of people hasn't sparked WASP hatred

to my knowledge

[aquart]

13. Oh, that's just business. And it's RIGHT for Christians to make money however they can.

But Jews? They do it for evil purposes, you know. Because they control everything. It's all their fault. All of it. Whatever it is.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[pjt7]

14. I do find it facinating how many

Jewish investors/charities etc. were fleeced by this guy.

[damntexdem]

16. Many of the victims were Jews and Jewish charities.

Nuff said.

[newscott]

18. I was surprised by my mom the other day

We were talking about Madoff and she went into a whole rant about jews. Very unlike her. She fell down last August, and I'm beginning to wonder if it affected her mentally. Really unlike her. I told her in no uncertain terms did I appreciate her "going there". :wtf:

[customerserviceguy]

23. That's the first thing that happens when something bad goes down

people instinctively look for reasons as to why it could not have happened to them. Jewishness is just the most convenient excuse your mother could find, that's why you'd not seen this behavior before.

It gets used in racial situations, too: "Well, if she didn't live among those people, she wouldn't have been raped/robbed/killed," is another example of the deep seated need of people to find some rationalization about when bad things happen to good people.

[emad]

20. Also some a few digs on the satirical sites...

Mossad Pension Fund hit for $900 million in Madoff Ponzi scam
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s3i45161

[customerserviceguy]

24. Yes, it's satire

but Jewish charities sent a lot of that money to Israel, even if it's just by sending Jewish teens there on trips to absorb Hebrew culture. That was the case with one such charity in my area that got completely wiped out.

Israel depends on those tourism dollars and the other donations, it wouldn't surprise me if somebody popped a cap in Madoff while he's on 'penthouse arrest'.

[Blue_Tires]

28. lol at that!

[Stellabella]

21. That's just stupid.

There are crooks and evil bastards in every single demographic group on earth.

[customerserviceguy]

22. I've seen just what you're talking about over at the freeptards

it's amazing how they ignore all the assholes who hide behind a fish sketch to rip off fellow Xtians.

Really, we're all just as vulnerable as the people Madoff scammed. If Mort Zuckerman can get cheated, how can any of us know that the statements we get from financial institutions are not equally as bogus?

[Grimm]

25. Sad but unexpected

When the Madoff story first broke, my Dad was saying that this would just be further ammunition for the anti-semites to attack us. Just once, I wish he was wrong.

Pretty much every disaster tends to follow with a "blame the Jews" game on the usual crevices of the internet. From 9/11 to Columbine to Mumbai to 7/7 to Bali to the entire financial crisis, you can usually find Jews as the scapegoat for all the events on Stormfront and its ilk. It must be nice to live in a world where the fault of every wrong done to you is not of your own making, but that of a shadowy cabal that's out to get you.

[Baby Snooks]

26. The Jews themselves really don't care at the moment..

Some are wondering how they will pay the bills next month. They trusted him. One of their own. And now, well, the check will not be in the mail. Bernie Madoff has wiped them out, a couple of hedge funds, a couple of banks, Yeshiva University, a couple of charitable foundations, and Palm Beach. The real trading over the holidays will not be on Wall Street. It will be in the pawn shops and consignment shops and auction houses in Manhattan. Apart from whatever they had in checking accounts, they are completely broke. None of them put all their eggs in one basket. But they did let Bernie Madoff handle the baskets.

They are saying far worse about Bernie Madoff than anyone else. Abe Foxman obviously didn't lose anything. Although of course he has a point. No one talked about how corrupt the Christians were when Enron went under. Although of course a lot was said about Andy Fastow. One minister compared Ken Lay to Jesus Christ. The intimation of course was that Jesus Christ was done in again by the Jew. An African-American minister I might add. They don't like Jews either. That's politically incorrect but the truth just the same. They really don't like anyone but then if I'd been oppressed by everyone I probably wouldn't either.

And Bernie Madoff probably isn't the only one. But then the next one probably will be compared to Jesus Christ again. Particularly if there is another Jew to blame. That is just the way it is.

The non-Jews who lost it all of course are saying nothing. Someone of course would tell them that's what they got for dealing with a Jew.

Welcome to America.

[ejbr]

27. Point well taken n/t

[entanglement]

29. Could be worse: if this guy had been any other minority, all that racism would be in the headlines

of major media outlets and not just a few kooks posting on the internet.