‘Uncle Bernie’ And the Jews

"Co-religionists"? Surely Madoff has no god but himself. There are still some believing Jews in America, and their achievement of faithfulness to their Creator is enough for Him. They need impress nobody else.

This article is a transparent attempt to spin the Madoff Ponzi scheme as an intra-family scandal, the cause of which (we are asked to believe) is the corrupting influence of goyim.

A self-respecting Jew naming a daughter "Hunter" is as preposterous to the author as one caught playing golf; both instances being transgressions to genuine Jewery, and both used to illustrate the immoral depths to which a few Jews (like Mr Madoff) have descended.

Oh really?

Since when do Jews have a lock on seriousness and industriousness? And in what religious context is a child's name reason for scorn?

Perhaps when exposition of Jewish exceptionalism ceases to be a premise for reasoned discussion the answers will reveal themselves.

Until then, I guess we should all just dumb down and take the author seriously on account of his religion.

And because he isn't named "Tyler."

As a Mexican-American Catholic with a voracious appetite for reading with no understanding whatsoever of the Jewish experience apart from my working in the scrap metal business I do not agree with this, better to laugh than to cry, article. The unconvincing equating of Jews with Episcopalians is disturbing, merely a diversion, from the basic perceptible stereotype, ???Uncle Bernie??? would not steal from his own. Unfortunately, it happens.

Totally disagree. And i am not Jewish. Question critical: what if, during 80% of Bernie's tutelage of his fund, he actually operated an honest fund that propsered just as it appeared to be? Then came the financial implosion starting after the dot com bubble and we all sense that is when the Big Rot set in for the general economy. Bernie then is merely a victim of larger forces, like us all. But, Jews like good thinking minorities in America, take impartial tribulation as a sign they are being singled out and spiral down into self inspection trying to find the personal/group faults and weaknesses apparently responsible for it all...which will never be found because the prmise is false to begin with. But isn't that one of the pillars of Angst?

The sad thing is that the Presidents of the nation keep feeding the stereotype by naming jews to head the posts dealing with money. You mean to tell me that only Jews can be heads of the Central Bank?

Sadder still is they are to blame for the mess we are in--Greenspan and Bernanske et. al. Replace them with others who ill not add to the insult of a failed economy.

Beautiful. Perfect. As a gentile, I foresee and mourn the end of American Jewry, but perhaps it's not all cultural--perhaps it's partly, or even mostly, genetic--perhaps spreading the genes around will help shore up the backbone of the general population.

Hopefully Uncle Bernie will be found dead of an apparent suicide. Thus a happy ending.

I like his comment about the value of being scammed. It forces you to remain vigilant rather than complacent, thorough rather than superficial. It helps you remember what values it took to become successful rather falling into the trap of laziness and decadence that wealth brings. I disagree that this scam represents just another milestone in collapse of traditional Jewish values in America but rather should serve as a wake up call reinforcing them, at least for a period of time.

I can understand to a point why members of the Jewish community would be outraged by Bernie Madoff's crimes. They have every right to be. But the assumption that his misdeeds will lead to a sudden wave of anti-Semitic hatred is to be a bit paranoid. With all due respect to history, most Americans are not foaming at the mouth to wage pogroms against Jews, nor are they of the belief that all Jews are greedy and crooked. For those foolish few who are willing to let Madoff convince them that Jews are thieves, the truth is that these individual *** are and have always been full of hate; not just for Jews but for any and everyone who is somehow different from themselves. Thank God most of us are smart enough to know that no one ethnic group has a monopoly on good or evil.

Well written, well thought out AND......once again, theres a reason why stereotypes exist........because theres just so much history behind them

It amazes me is that Jews buy into Jewish stereotypes so readily. Golf is beneath Jews? Jews are, to their detriment, becoming "Episcopalian"? Sad.