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=> ‘The Wolf’ and the Jewish problem By Rob Eshman

‘The Wolf’ and the Jewish problem By Rob Eshman

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‘The Wolf’ and the Jewish problem By Rob Eshman Jewish Journal http://www.jewishjournal.com/rob_eshman/article/jordan_belfort_and_the_wolf_of_wall_streets_jewish_problem “The Wolf of Wall Street” is nauseating, pornographic and soul-crushing — and you have to see it. You have to see it, because you — meaning society, Jews, all of us as individuals — have to face the questions it raises about money, wealth and morality. Director Martin Scorsese is taking some heat for depicting Jordan Belfort as a likable rogue. Yes, Belfort lies, steals and snorts avalanches of coke off naked tushees, but he loves his dad, has a great run and, after all, he’s Leonardo DiCaprio. A generation of young men will now flock to Wall Street aping Belfort, just as a generation of drug dealers took their cues from Al Pacino in “Scarface.” I don’t blame Scorsese. His genius is to examine society’s most grievous sins through its most colorful practitioners. True, he doesn’t show the effects of Belfort’s crimes on their victims — the families wrecked by financial loss and legal troubles, the people who fell for the cons and paid with their nest eggs. Then again, the movie is told entirely from Belfort’s point of view, and Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter probably assumed Belfort has never spent two seconds thinking about the human suffering he caused — unless it was his own. But I do regret that Scorsese chose not to deal with the fact that Jordan Belfort is Jewish. Although some of the characters in “Wolf,” like Jonah Hill’s Donnie Azoff, are clearly portrayed as Jews, even to the point of wearing chai necklaces around their coke-frosted necks, Belfort, with his Anglo looks and Frenchy name, is left to be simply American. I get it: To do otherwise might give the movie a whiff of anti-Semitic caricature. Scorsese feels much safer depicting the Italian-ness of his violent mobsters than the Jewishness of his greedy con men. But, just between us, let’s talk about Belfort-the-Jew — let’s go there. In the movie, you never really understand how someone so gifted can be so morally unmoored. But in his memoir, upon which the movie is based, whenever Belfort refers to his Jewish roots, the diagnosis becomes more apparent. He is a kid from Long Island. His dad, Max, grew up “in the old Jewish Bronx, in the smoldering economic ashes of the Great Depression.” Belfort didn’t grow up poor by any means, he just wasn’t rich enough. The hole in him wasn’t from poverty, but from desire for acceptance. The “blue-blooded WASPs,” Belfort writes, “viewed me as a young Jewish circus attraction.” Belfort had a chip on his shoulder the size of a polo pony, and so did everyone he recruited. They were, he writes, “the most savage young Jews anywhere on Long Island: the towns of Jericho and Syosset. It was from out of the very marrow of these two upper-middle-class Jewish ghettos that the bulk of my first hundred Strattonites had come….” It’s not complicated, really. Poor little Jordan wanted to show those WASPs whose country clubs he couldn’t join that he was smarter, richer, better. What he failed to understand is that just about every Jew, every minority, shares the same impulses. But only a select few decide the only way to help themselves is to hurt others. Belfort, like Bernie Madoff, is an extreme example. These are guys who feel they have nothing, they are nothing, so they will do anything to acquire everything. They cross a pretty clear line and just keep going. The question that gnaws at me is whether there’s something amiss in the vast gray area that leads right up to that line. Are the Belforts and Madoffs unnatural mutations, or are they inevitable outgrowths of attitudes that have taken root in our communities? We don’t, as a community, like to talk about money and wealth and how to acquire it and how to spend it. A Madoff affair happens — a crime that devastates thousands of people, businesses and philanthropies, many of them in the heart of the Jewish community — and we hardly speak about it anymore. These days, we are deep in the pit arguing over the American Studies Association’s (ASA) boycott of Israeli academics and whether Jewish students at Swarthmore College’s Hillel should open their doors to anti-Zionist speakers. We have devoted so many smart words and fiery sermons to these issues, you’d think the entire Jewish future depended upon them. Never mind that there are bridge clubs bigger than the ASA, and that the State of Israel, with its history, power and genius, may just survive the withering onslaught of a panel discussion in suburban Pennsylvania. The Jewish world never lacks for turbulent conversations. My only concern is whether they’re the right ones. Talking about Israel is easy — talking about money is uncomfortable. But these are the conversations we need to be having. What’s the right way to make money? How much is enough? How much must we share, and with whom? We are blessed to be living at a time of unparalleled Jewish power and wealth, and it makes us so uneasy, we prefer to talk about everything but. We have benefited from an economic and political structure that is becoming less and less just. We are enjoying unprecedented wealth as millions struggle on minimum wages, facing hunger, unemployment, benefit cuts, homelessness. We look to our rabbis and institutions for guidance, but too many of them are afraid to upset the wealthy donors upon whom they are dependent. So we talk instead about Israel, about Swarthmore, and our communities become breeding grounds for the next Madoff, the next Belfort. That’s not a movie. That’s a shame. Rob Eshman is publisher and editor-in-chief of TRIBE Media Corp./Jewish Journal. E-mail him at robe@jewishjournal.com. You can follow him on Twitter @foodaism. COMMENTS: Gubbler Chechenova: <<He is a kid from Long Island. His dad, Max, grew up “in the old Jewish Bronx, in the smoldering economic ashes of the Great Depression.” Belfort didn’t grow up poor by any means, he just wasn’t rich enough. The hole in him wasn’t from poverty, but from desire for acceptance. The “blue-blooded WASPs,” Belfort writes, “viewed me as a young Jewish circus attraction.” Belfort had a chip on his shoulder the size of a polo pony, and so did everyone he recruited. They were, he writes, “the most savage young Jews anywhere on Long Island: the towns of Jericho and Syosset. It was from out of the very marrow of these two upper-middle-class Jewish ghettos that the bulk of my first hundred Strattonites had come….”>> Nice try, but you're passing off the same philosemitic canard employed by Social Network, i.e. Jewish nastiness is essentially a reaction to wasp discrimination and snubbing. It's just another way of excusing or at least rationalizing Jewish behavior by contextualizing their behavior as an overreaction to wrongs done to Jews. But plenty of other non-wasp groups were snubbed by wasps, but they didn't produce the kind of nasty financial characters that the Jewish community did. Given the mess in 2008, it's disingenuous to say Madoff and Belfort were just a few exceptions. And consider the mass robbery carried out in Russia in the 90s--with the help of American Jews. Consider how Soros made his billions. http://nypost.com/2001/02/15/how-marc-helped-plunder-russia/ The fact is even Jews who grew up fully accepted--and even revered--by wasps have often acted like Belfort. Today, Jews have the most power and privilege in this country--to the point where every politician of both parties grovels before AIPAC--, but it seems like Jews who grew up with all this love and attention are no better than the Belforts and Madoffs. That said, this article is to be lauded for pointing out that Scorsese sidestepped the issue of Belfort's Jewishness. It was out of FEAR as the mass media--dominated by Jews--and financial institutions(Hollywood is both rolled into one)will destroy anyone with a whiff of 'antisemitism', which today can be even the slightest criticism oh Jewish wrongs. Without criticism, power just grows more arrogant and corrupt. Wasp power reformed itself under criticism from others and from within. But Jewish power--the most powerful power in America, therefore the world--is not allowed to be criticized, and Jews--even the writer of this article in his own way--find clever ways to rationalize or sidestep the Jewish problem as mere reaction to wrongs done to Jews. It'd be like Italian-Americans complaining that they got into crime because some rich wasp didn't want their daughter to marry a garlic eater. Godfather II suggested as much with the nasty character of the wasp senator. But the more honest Goodfellas showed that Italian-Americans joined the mob cuz they wanted easy money and a good time. The Jewish problem will not go away even if every country club and ever wasp vagina open up to Jews. If anything, it will get worse as Jews will think they are the best and owed respect and admiration by everyone. Contrary to Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg did not have a chip on his shoulder in real life but he pulled dirty tricks on his road to wealth and power. But the devious Sorkin spun the story to make Zuckerberg's nastiness as merely a reaction to wasps who snubbed him at Harvard, which is a laugh since Jews have been the insiders at Harvard for several decades now. If anything, Jews have been excluding white gentiles in favor of more Jews. http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-meritocracy/ PS. Didn't Jewish clubs exclude non-Jews? I mean how many Jewish clubs accepted blacks, Asians, Muslims, and Mexicans? Wasn't even Michael Jordan denied admission to a Jewish golf club? And if Jews have been for social justice, why did they want to join an exclusive blue blood club to in the first place? Looks like Jews want to have the cake and eat it too. They wanna be the ultimate insiders(and now they are) but still act like they're poor poor outsiders whose nastiness is just a reaction to 'blue blood' snobbery. Gimme a break. Reply · 18 · Like · Follow Post · January 1 at 7:02am me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo) read my comments above, by deborah- yes this is a hit piece for us Jews, and the article should be rewritten, it is insulting and derogatory to Jews Reply · 5 · Like · January 2 at 11:06am Simon Newman · London, United Kingdom: "But plenty of other non-wasp groups were snubbed by wasps, but they didn't produce the kind of nasty financial characters that the Jewish community did. " Part of that is high ability providing opportunity, though. Also with high numbers comes the likelihood of some sociopathic individuals. Some (eg) Italians did act similarly, but also the integration of Catholics into the US mainstream by the 1950s reduced their sense of alienation and the likelihood of them engaging in predatory behaviour. Members of some other high-ability American minorities such as Armenians (who are Christian) and Iranians do sometimes behave in a simiilar manner, but generally have less opportunity to do so. Reply · 1 · Like · January 5 at 3:23am me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): You are begging the question as to why the Maddofs and Belforts (who happen too Jewish) do what they do, and suggesting in your article that our culture lacks morals. Are you trying to say that the goyim don't have goniifs and alcoholics too, give me a break? The self loathing sentiment in this piece is really a sad commentary on how us Jews in diaspora are so willing to accept the ingratiating and negative beliefs around us, which are in fact based on sheer ignorance in order to look and feel cool, to fit in. This is sad. I am really shocked that the paper runs this kind of commentary, especially now when our nation, Israel, is at war. Deborah Reply · 6 · Like · Follow Post · January 2 at 11:02am me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): WHY BRING UP JEWS NOW- UNNECESSARY FOR THIS REVIEW Ron, why bring the book , no one read it , it was not on the bestsellers list either. The film is what the average shmuck will see and form opinions from. Yes, Belfort was an embarrassment as a human being- however his being a drug addicted crook has NOTHING to do with his being a Jew, What I wondered after I read this review is why on earth Jews such as yourself, are so eager, so anxious to somehow blame it on our culture- I have seen other articles in this paper that highlight Jewish failures. Now is not the time my friend. True his memoir alluded to his having a Jewish background, but that does not account for why he decided to become greedy and immoral. Perhaps his parents were lousy, no good-niks, I don't know, not having read the book, but again to suggest this is something in our Jewish culture is really ludicrous and dangerous, and what I would call irresponsible reporting. Thanks and shalom Deborah Lurya AM Israel Chai. Reply · 5 · Like · January 2 at 11:20am Patricia Pythia · Indiana University: Sarah Silverman is a young Jewess and she was born into and raised in privilege and she got the red carpet treatment all her life despite her insults toward other groups. And yet, she is no less nasty than Belfort. Jews are like that because they generally have higher intelligence, and this makes them feel superior to dumb goyim. Also, as Jews worked as haggling middlemen and judgmental rabbis for 1000s of yrs, the personality traits that came to be selected among Jews tended to be pushy, aggressive, and contemptuous. Jews have had the same reputation in North Africa, MIddle East, Europe, and America. Jews were nasty and pushy long before they met up with bluebloods. No matter where they went and settled, they came to be seen by others in the same way. Of course, as Jews control all the media in the US, they've brainwashed us into seeing them as the most wonderful people, and Americans are total philosemites. But no matter how much they are loved and adored by Americans of all stripes, Jewish nastiness continues just the same. It's damned if you do, damned if you do. If you are hostile toward Jews, Jews resent you for your suspicions. If you loving toward Jews, Jews hold you in contempt as easy suckers to fleece. By the way, if Jews were angry with bluebloods, why did they go out of their way to cheat blacks, ethnic whites, Asians, and Arabs too? Every group remembers being badly fleeced by Jews. How much longer are Jews gonna blame all their nastiness on OTHER people? Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · January 4 at 1:10pm Patricia Pythia · Indiana University: This 'blueblood' made me do it so lame. After all, there are lots of nasty Jewish gangsters, thugs, and cheaters in Israel where everything is owned and controlled by Jews. There are no bluebloods there to piss Jews off. If anything, Americans go out of their ways to accommodate Jews over there, and AIPAC is the most powerful lobby in America. So, how come so many Israeli Jews act so nasty and obnoxious? Will Jews ever take responsibility for their bad behavior or will they always spin it as a reaction to wrongs done by others? The film CASINO JACK would have us believe that, as nasty as the Jewish guy was, he was motivated by the fact that white Christian Republicans didn't treat him as an equal. What baloney. Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · January 4 at 1:00pm Susan Amerikaner: Want to have a meaningful discussion about film and Jews? Watch the amazing documentary "Crime After Crime." (Netflix Streaming, etc.) This film calls to action to repair the world. It does not simply show us a train wreck or bleeding bodies. It is about souls and the soul-less criminal justice system. Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · January 2 at 3:57pm Annie Korzen · Bard College: Amen! Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · December 31, 2013 at 3:16pm Ilene Harriet Richman · Top Commenter · CUNY City Tech: This is a disgusting, horrible movie. The language is horrific and the use of drugs is blinding. Scorcese has a lot of talent. This movie does not how his talent. Reply · 3 · Like · Follow Post · January 2 at 2:37pm Patricia Pythia · Indiana University: Using Jewish moral logic, we might as well say, Hitler overreacted because rich Jews treated him like dirt when he was poor art student and veteran. When Germans were losing all their savings during the Great Depression, lots of financial Jews grew richer and richer and their brethren used German women as cheap tramp whores in the cabarets and brothels. So, one could argue, that's why Hitler got angry and overreacted and did what he did. I'm not making this argument, but if we use Jewish moral logic, such an argument CAN be made. Half-justify Hitler's bad behavior by pegging it to Jewish snobbery and greed. Just like Belfort rebelled against rich bluebloods, the poor gutter trash Hitler was rebelling against the Jewish elites who were turning Germany into Sodom and Gomorrah. Just saying. Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · January 4 at 12:57pm Simon Newman · London, United Kingdom: "What’s the right way to make money? How much is enough? How much must we share, and with whom? We are blessed to be living at a time of unparalleled Jewish power and wealth, and it makes us so uneasy, we prefer to talk about everything but." A sense of responsibility and a degree of noblesse oblige from a nation's elites is always a good thing, I think. It makes sense to take good care of the country that benefits you - it's self interest as well as morally right. Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · January 5 at 3:27am Gerald Gardner · Top Commenter · New Hyde Park, New York: Can anyone name at least one Wall Street investment banker who's NOT Jewish? Jews on Wall Street and Washington, DC are responsible for the financial crisis (which is getting worse, not better). It's time to ban Jews from positions of financial and political power in this country! Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · January 5 at 3:28pm Progressive Prison Project, Greenwich, CT: We have the first ministries in the US to support the families of persons accused or convicted of white-collar and other nonviolent crimes, and I went to prison for a white-collar crime myself, so I have some experience to add to this discussion. I agree with you Mr. Eshman, at least in this respect - we should be having a national debate about the right way to make money, how to share it, with whom, and also what the punishment should be for its mishandling. But is this movie the right vehicle to launch this debate? Alas, perhaps it always takes a disaster to get people to pay attention to important topics. Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div Director, Progressive Prison Project/ Innocent Spouse & Children Project Christ Church Greenwich Greenwich, Connecticut Assoc. Minister / Director of Prison Ministries First Baptist Church of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT progressiveprisonproject.org Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · December 31, 2013 at 5:35pm Avi Zirler · Top Commenter · University of Minnesota: Eshman thinks “we are blessed to be living at a time of unparalleled Jewish power and wealth". The Pew report is showing this is all a fallacy, an illusion ending before our very own eyes. The demographic disappearance of American Jewry, just as the support or indifference of many American Jews for the BDS and the ASA, and as it could be argued – Jewish criminals like Belfort and Madoff – are all the product of the majority of American Jewry’s failure to preserve their Judaism and live up to its values. Reply · 1 · Like · Follow Post · January 2 at 11:27pm me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): the movie did not mention his being a jew, because jewish values had nothing to do with this pig and his lust for greed, drugs and death Reply · 2 · Like · January 3 at 12:50pm me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): However the weasel who wrote this article Ron Eshman is nothing but a sorry self loathing Jew. Deborah LUrya Reply · Like · January 3 at 12:50pm Abraham Weizfeld · Follow: Hey, quite good.. and one could go into an extrapolation with your images and see Israel as the Zionist State that jumps right into that bag of pomposity with the plea of it's only self-determination and those others, we don't have to worry about because we are the winners! Reply · Like · Follow Post · January 2 at 8:04pm me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): you are really an ignoramus Reply · Like · January 3 at 12:48pm me· Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo): "WE" who you speaking of white man? We, assuming most Jews have money? You are as misinformed as those ignoramuses who claim we own Hollywood. Reply · Like · Follow Post · January 3 at 12:57pm Deirdre Mullen · Top Commenter: Everyone knows Jews own Hollywood. Wake up. Read Joel Stein's comment on that issue actually. It's ridiculous to suggest that so man people of a particular ethnicity in a particular industry will not be noticed. Yes, goyim are perhaps not as high-IQ or sharp as Jews are but honestly one would have to be living in a cave not to notice this sort of thing. Reply · Like · January 19 at 11:28pm Larry Snider · Top Commenter: You are correct of course that our children need to be taught what value is and what money isn't. I'm a very focused peacenik, so I think the other conversation, (not about ASA and Swarthmore's Hillel), but about two enemies actually making peace is important for our Jewish community to have too. Thank you! Reply · Like · Follow Post · Edited · January 1 at 5:57am Rachel Ella · Berkeley: but it is a conversation for all people, NOT JUST JEWS --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic: ‘The Wolf’ and the Jewish problem By Rob Eshman Marcello - Wednesday, January 22 2014, 2:23:31 (UTC) Re: ‘The Wolf’ and the Jewish problem By Rob Eshman pancho - 01/22 17:03

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