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Posted in: Rabbi: Kick Madoff out of the Jewish people
12/26/08 06:08 PM
I think "Ima Gentile" is missing the point. What has many of us so incensed is that Bernard Madoff's actions hurt so many others... and yes they hurt people who were Jewish, but they also hurt people who were not. The end result of Mr Madoff's greed and duplicity is that he harmed CHARITIES. Notice-- he didn't just harm hedge fund managers who now won't be able to go to the Bahamas-- he harmed well-meaning Jewish people who were his friends, people who ran charities, and sincerely thought they were making a good investment with him that would make their charities better able to help more people. Now, those charities have been forced to close or curtail their services. Most Jewish charities do not just help Jews-- American Jewish World Services, for example, sets up schools in countries like Rwanda (not exactly a hub of Jewish activity) and gives food to people in countries world-wide, whether they have Jewish populations or not. Ima seems to think the issue for us is "Madoff hurt his own people." No, Madoff hurt the poor, the needy, the homeless, the kids at Boys and Girls Clubs, and yes some organizations that do in fact cater mainly to Jews. I for one am furious about what he did, and find the media focus on alleged "wealthy Jews" quite unfortunate. Jewish philanthropists, whether wealthy or not, try their best to serve as many of the needy as possible. Mr Madoff only served his own needs, and the fact that his actions feed into old (and false) stereotypes about Jews saddens many of us. I agree with the rabbi who wrote the letter: this man has no right to call himself a Jew-- Judaism has requirements about ethics, commpassion, mitzvah, about making the world a better place. Mr Madoff's lack of compassion and his lack of ethics make him a disgrace, and organized Judaism doesn't need someone like him.