A Letter To Madoff

It wasn???t the author of this article or the media OR even Bernie that revived the "Jew game", it was the haters who look for any excuse whatsoever to blame Jews for any and everything. Jews have been blamed for 9/11, Obama conspiracy after Obama Conspiracy, Judge Sotomayor nomination, Iran's election fiasco, etc etc etc.. Bottom line people will blame the Jews as long as Jews are around. Nobody is to blame except the racist a-holes doing the blaming.

That op-ed piece was a little extravagant...I find it ironic that a guy who claims that Madoff has revived the "Jew Game" is writing about it in the national news...all he is doing is perpetuating the notion of jews being penny pinching greedists by shedding public light on it...as a leader of a people who have been scapegoated throughout history, i don't think that it was appropriate for him to scapegoat madoff at all, let alone to the extent that he did...Yes madoff is a criminal, but to say that he has become the impetus for the revival of anti-semitic feelings that have never ceased to exist in the first place is shortsighted, inappropriate, and flat out wrong. Is he not doing the same thing that he faults madoff for--perpetuating the notion of the "Jew Game???" So to you Rabbi Gellman I have this to say: Get off the cross and stop being a martyr. Attributing anti-semitism to the inherant vileness of one man who happens to be a jew is shamefully immature. Anyone who has a brain in their head, jew or gentile, should be able to see that. Without even considering your leadership position within the Jewish faith, your unforgiving tirade was done in poor taste and most probably bolsters the notion of the "Jew Game" just as much as the actions of this "abomination" of a man. I think you need to re-evaluate what you, yourself, are doing before you are to judge anybody. Stick to the religion thing because you would get dominated in a political environment you holier than thou hypocrite

It is not Bernie Madoff who revived the Jew game it is the media

thank you Rabbi for a concise and important , articulate article. There could be thousands of us Jews doing what is right, what is just yet any one event, especially of this magnitude will give more anti- semitic travails. Let the world know that this action by Madoff has embarrassed us and caused us shame and yet there will be those who think this is what we stand for and the Jewish game resurfaces and continues. This little man has broken a very important commandment, that it is a sin to bring shame "blanching" to another, to shame someone in public.To cause the blood to rush from their face is like killing, he drew blood.He has shamed us all. We must always remember who we are and see that this action is not forgotten nor repeated. I truly am sorry for those investors. -Eli Melech
It is a difficult covenant that we have with Gd. We have the strength .

Thank you Rabbi Gellman for expressing what many of us have kept inside. You are quite correct that there are three sets of victims of Mr. Madoff's unconscionable and unfathomable greed. The first and most apparent set of victims are the investors, their families, and the charities that have lost all they have invested. The second set are the people and the families who were served by the charities. And, as you pointed out, the final victims of Madoff???s madness are Jews the world over who will now be reviled by a new set of anti-Semitic hate mongers. But you know what Rabbi, this is nothing new to us as a people. It has been going on for over 2000 years and, as long as there is one person on earth that considers him or herself to be a Jew, there will be some cretin who hates for that reason alone. My grandfather once told me that the true symbol of Judaism should not be the Mogen David, but the hard-boiled egg, for like the sword, the more it is placed in the fire, the harder and tougher it becomes.

testing

Investing in any capacity has risks, and from the accounts I have read the group of victims all had one similar trait. They wanted high returns, and suspended logic and moral principals in pursuit of wealth. While this is not a crime it is also not my problem. I am not wealthy, nor elitist, and I shed no tears for the victims, but I also bear them no ill will, be they Jew or Gentile

I shall withhold judgment on this article for a few weeks. In that time, it will be determined if there will be a political attempt to have the U.S. government make restitutions for this criminal act, and my position shall also be determined, because it is a simple matter of pragmatism.

I did not share in the illusory wealth that was divided amongst those who took part, and I REFUSE to share in the losses

Rabbi Gelman,
Madoff committed heinous crimes, but antisemitism is a problem of society. As Jews, we should not be looking to correct or condone the behavior of individual Jews in an attempt to abate what is an international problem of pinning the world's ills on the Jewish people. The fact that Ken Lay was not labeled a Protestant and Blagojevich not labeled a Serbian while Madoff has been labeled a Jew in countless news articles, shows that antisemitism is alive and well. Since its inception, Israel has been singled out by the UN for sanctions and condemned by the EU all the while much more serious atrocities are committed all over the world. We cannot sit back and hope that if we, as Jews, never have a member within our society commit a crime that antisemitism will go away. History has shown us that antisemitism remains dormant and rears its ugly head when the world needs a scapegoat for its problems. Madoff should rot in jail for his crimes, but the Jewish people need to stop apologizing for antisemitism, stand up, and fight for our right to be free from bigotry and free in our homeland, the state of Israel.

could not agree more with every point in this blog except for the fact this person beleives bringing up heritage changes the world for any that Madoff screwed over. very shameless attempt at introverted racism

Enter Your Comment

Should the heads of these charities who stampeded over each other, doing no due diligence be looked upon like Madoff?
Why not? They are the ones responsible for placing assets with this crook. If Madoff goes to jail, so should all the "best and brightest" who ran these foundations with their Ivy League degrees.

See, I'm just a jewish hick from Detroit Mi. I work managing other peoples money. I didn't do what Madoff did, and my cleints aren't suffering as Maddoff's did.

THE WORLD KNOWS POLICE-CRIMINALS NEXUS.
NOW THE WORLD AWAKENS TO POLITICIANS-BUSINESS MAGNATE NEXUS.
SATYAM ( TRUTH IN HINDI ) VETTED TOP POLITICIANS IN INDIA TO GET INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTS AWARDED TO MATYAS ( THAT IS SATYAM SPELLED BACKWARDS).

Rabbi Gellman tells us that the Bible calls such things (as Madoff's crime) "a toevah, 'an abomination'. It means an act so alien to our values and our natures that it cannot be understood or explained." This comment of Rabbi Gellman strikes me as odd, when the Reform Movement that ordains him openly endorses homosexuality, which the Bible also calls "toevah". So, according to Reform, is a "toevah" good or bad, or does it depend on who commits it?

I personally know of a woman who happens to be a Holocaust survivor, and owns a chain of nursing homes throughout the Eastern Coast. "Not fit for a dog" fits many of these institutions.

She is, in effect, a multimillionaire, at the expense of people???s accidents, diseases, and illnesses, compounding pain and suffering, and at what price? What price are the lives of our seniors in nursing homes, and so on? Is she a bad Jew? Who cares? Who really, really cares, I have concluded. Let's not get fooled, or sidetracked as to worrying about the crazies out there who will then pick on other innocent Jews for other Jews abominations.

Non-Jews who bash all Jewish people for the bad behaviors are missing the poin. Let???s not blame the Jewish man who stole billions as being helpful to tarnish for decades our reputations as Jewish people.

Yes, it is bizarre that the media talks about Jews and illicit money schemes and scams, or who promote R and X rated films, lowering the sense of decency for generations to come. Yes, it is inappropriate for Jewish people to be put under the anti-Semitic microscope for allowing Israel???s tolerance for allowing imported Russian women to cater to the appetites of men in the field of prostitution. A person's religion, no matter what their history should not be the focus. Jewish people who run under the radar in the child sex slavery industry in other countries may be Jewish, but, empowering these seemingly evil people as actually having the power to create more anti-Semitic attitudes and behavior is not fruitful.

The same people who played the games years ago with the quarter on the ground, are still, today, connected to the same people that 'do not get it" even today. Being Jewish is never the problem.

Let us continue to practice our faith(s) as they were designated to be practiced, and let us all continue to be advocates for the issues that are important to all of us, and future generations to come; being moral, ethical, having integrity, and a sense of human decency towards others. None of us will ever be perfect at this, as you know. Let our Jewish spiritual leaders be part of the solutions, as well. Let all of be outspoken in the ways we can be. Let us remember that (even anonymously) to say nothing, to do nothing, can reinforce anyone???s negative behaviors. The Jewish man who tore the hearts of individuals, corporations and non-profits, did not act alone.

Much back and forth here regards "antisemitism". Its incumbant on any "jewish and exclusive" organization to agressively fight any question or doubt that what they perpetrate by racial exclusion of all other not jewish is acceptable. But, it remains that organizations which are jewish and exclude others are a problem, and until they open up and join with the rest of the world, they SHOULD be assaulted, just as all other forms of racism have. jews werre a minority of those losing their lives in WWII, they rose up with arms, as many other defenders. Like many, they lost. World war II caused a lot of deaths. Working for peace, and equally honoring all dead is the only way forward. Each according to his abilities is the lesson learned from trust of someone because of their exclusive club membership. The guy could have been a member of the green hair club for men. All should be subject to due dilligence. If there is a jewish component, its that the ADL and others do not want it examined as to why allowing jewish and exclusive is a problem.
Muhammed atta