Man on the take and a birthday cake

The big news this week obviously is Bernard Madoff and his Ponzi scheme that has allegedly robbed the nonprofit world of billions of dollars. If the allegations are proved true (he did admit to the crime but has yet to be convicted in a court of law), then this man is responsible not only for destroying people’s lives and wreaking havoc on Jewish (and non-Jewish) charities, but he has also provided fodder to anti-Semites.

To coin a phrase, this is a shanda far di goyim. This reflects upon the Jewish people as a whole, because when one of us stumbles, we all are seen to stumble. Already the Internet hate-mongers are blasting the “Jewish values” they believe behind Madoff’s scheme.

Of course, we understand that the anti-Semites don’t need any excuses. They’re going to hate us no matter what. Anti-Semitism does not rely on rationality.

Demonstrating this point is the Campbell family of Holland Township in south Jersey. Heath and Deborah Campbell went to a ShopRite in Pennsylvania recently to get a cake for their son’s birthday. When the store refused to write their son’s name on the cake, the family cried discrimination against their soon-to-be-3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell.

Adolf’s younger sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, weren’t so lucky in names either.

Heath and Deborah don’t understand what all the fuss is about. They claim to understand that the Nazis were bad people, but their home is filled with Nazi memorabilia and, of course, there are the children.

To call what these parents have done child abuse would be an understatement. These children will be ostracized if they go to public school, and if they are home-schooled, they will be further brainwashed by the vile hatred of their parents.

These parents have robbed their children of their innocence. Until they reach 18 and can legally change their names, they will not be judged by their actions or their personalities, but by the brands their parents have forced upon them.

We reported this week that some charities have so far escaped unscathed from Madoff’s machinations. Angelica Berrie of the Russell Berrie Foundation called upon all those who are unaffected to step up to the plate and help others in need.

This is also the only way to educate the bigots. Every time they slam us with slander and hate, we must respond with more actions for good, to be a light unto the world. That is the real Jewish way.

J.L.

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