Jewish Crooks
Our editor ponders Madoff, Dwek, and other shandes
July 31, 2009
New York has posted an article from next week’s issue by Tablet Magazine editor-in-chief, Alana Newhouse. The subject is Bernard Madoff and New Jersey’s Syrian-Jewish money-laundering ring, and specifically how Jews reconcile the existence of such prominent Jewish wrongdoers with the Tribe’s penchant for believing themselves to be “chosen.” According to Alana, the paradox comes down to the double-edged sword of Jewish exceptionalism. “Maybe we can’t have Philip Roth and Leonard Bernstein without Bernie Madoff and the informant behind the Jersey busts, Solomon Dwek,” she writes. While specific historical factors planted the seeds for Jews’ undeniable political, scientific, and cultural success, “those very same factors might have predisposed them to distinction in less-savory domains,” she adds.
But, as they say, read the whole thing. Please check out our coverage of the Dwek fiasco as well. For a people who claim to be ashamed of such characters, we sure do talk about them a lot.
Bad for the Jews? [New York]
Previously: Crisis of Faith
About Us: Alana Newhouse
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
