COMMENTARY: Madoff Jewish? Big deal

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Madoff Jewish? Big deal
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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

By HINDA MANDELL

Jewish news flash: Not everyone is as keenly aware as you are that the world's most notorious Ponzi schemer is Jewish.

Bernard Madoff scandal
The veteran Wall Street money manager, a part-time Palm Beacher, is accused of duping a long list of investors in a huge Ponzi scheme.

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A professor of mine who closely followed news about Bernard Madoff had no idea about his religious background. As it turned out, she was hospitalized when Madoff's Jewish affiliation, and the disproportionate number of his Jewish investors made news. And after her release, it never measured on her radar. Another professor expressed surprise to learn that Jews may be sensitive to Madoff's religious background.

Neither professor is Jewish. That's the point.

Cognitive psychology instructs us that information important to us is kept in the forefront of our minds. Perhaps the professors didn't associate Madoff and Jewish because Judaism does not place their radars on high alert. As a Ph.D. student studying Madoff, I have spent much time thinking about how people of various religious backgrounds react to Madoff's Jewish identity.

People with a Jewish identity (of which I'm one) seem to have reached a consensus that Madoff's Jewish background may fuel anti-Semitism. But we also tend to assume that non-Jews will think less of us simply because Madoff shares our religious customs. In February, Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in The Post that the Madoff story prompted "an outpouring of anti-Semitic comments on mainstream and extremist Web sites." His statement leads me to believe that anti-Jewish expression was commonplace, and perhaps increased, thanks to Madoff and the Internet's anonymity.

However, a survey I conducted in March as part of my research contradicts that statement. The anonymous, online survey was completed by 178 individuals from across the U.S. It was sent to Jewish e-mail lists and a Christian seminary in Boston, and Christian e-mail lists in New York. It also was posted on the Web site of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles.

Jewish respondents generally agreed that "Madoff gives Jews a bad name," with the Jewish average resting at "I feel this way often." Non-Jews, however, had a different response. Whether one identified as Protestant, Catholic, Christian or having no religious affiliation, the average response was the same: It fell smack in the middle of "I feel this way rarely" and "I never feel this way." So much for non-Jewish respondents thinking that Madoff is a dark smudge on all Jews.

Generally, Protestants, Catholics, Christians and those without religious affiliation did not find Madoff's religion to be relevant. Instead, his religious identity was more important to Jewish respondents; 59 percent have thought at some point that they would feel better if Madoff were Protestant, Muslim, Catholic or Hindu.

Regardless of these differences, my survey also finds a similarity between the groups. All religious groups agreed that the media focus on Madoff's Jewish background was "just right." Respondents probably recognized that Madoff's Jewish background played a role in how he recruited investors. Therefore, they saw media coverage of this fact as relevant to the story, even if Madoff's specific religion was irrelevant to them.

While I cannot generalize, the findings still offer insight. Jews may be surprised to learn that non-Jewish respondents have expressed cool-headed opinions about Madoff's religious background, not anti-Semitic ramblings. Non-Jews may be surprised to learn how sensitive Jewish respondents are to Madoff's religion, and the extent to which Jewish respondents worry about how non-Jews think about them.

Not surprisingly, Madoff's religion is a source of shame for many Jews. It's impossible to reflect on Jewish concern over what "the Gentiles must think" without acknowledging a history pockmarked with extreme persecution. If the Madoff scandal took place in early 20th-century Europe, one can imagine it prompting a pogrom against Jews. But if the survey results are any indication, Jews are their toughest critics.

Cognitive psychology can help explain that, too. When something is dear to you, you seek to protect its reputation. Personal issues such as religion are intertwined with identity. And while Madoff's house of cards toppled, identity is a much harder enterprise to collapse.

Hinda Mandell, a doctoral student in mass communications at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, has reported on Madoff for The Boston Globe.