From here to Affinity - Outreach Center Fraud and Deception
Feb 3, 2008 9:53
By ANDREW SILOW-CARROL
I just learned a new term: "affinity" fraud. It came up in a story about a
lawsuit in Lakewood, the central New Jersey township with a booming Orthodox
community. According to the Jan. 17 article in the Daily Business Review , NJ
developer Eliyahu Weinstein is alleged to have defrauded Miami investor - and
fellow Orthodox Jew - Harvey D. Wolinetz out of some $78.5 million in loans and
investments.
"Affinity" investment fraud, according to the article, is when someone "preys on
members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, seniors
or professional groups." Wolinetz's trust was "founded on the fact that both men
come from the same Orthodox Jewish community," according to his lawsuit against
Weinstein. "Instead, Weinstein exploited Mr. Wolinetz's trust by defrauding
him." Weinstein's lawyer said he is confident that the allegations will not
stand up in court.
Whatever the truth, it's an unpleasant story and awful fodder for those inclined
to bash the Orthodox. And when I say those inclined to bash the Orthodox, I mean
non-Orthodox Jews. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with fellow
Jews who want to share stories of Orthodox gone wild.
When they do, I have a standard reply: "Every group has its nogoodniks and
shouldn't be judged on their behavior. Even religious people can be fallible,
troubled, or conniving, but no more so than the general population. And you seem
happy to ignore the exceptional commitment to charity and mutual support that is
infinitely more emblematic of Orthodox communities."
I'm not sure how much of an impact my little speech has, since there are bigger
forces than logic or fair play at work here. For many Jews, the Orthodox
represent the past, and their stubborn adherence to tradition is a rebuke to
those who have abandoned it. Nothing expiates a secular person's sense of guilt
faster than seeing an Orthodox Jew show up on the crime blotter. (Call it
affinity schadenfreude.) At the same time, Americans' disdain for sanctimony is
as old as "Elmer Gantry."
DESPITE THE best efforts of the New Atheists, the most potent charge you can
level at believers is not that they are irrational or intolerant, but that they
are hypocritical. Conservatives get it wrong when they call the "liberal" media
anti-religious for the salacious way they cover religious scandals. In fact, the
media are never so happy as when then can play the role of defender of the
faith. "Troubling news tonight, Jim," says the reporter, standing in front of
St. Somewhere. "A priest who pledged to uphold the word of God is instead in
custody for...."
For the same reason, a newspaper is more likely to identify the religion of an
Orthodox Jew than his non-Orthodox coreligionist. Take The New York Times'
coverage of Martin Tankleff, the Long Island man whose conviction was overturned
17 years after he was imprisoned for the murder of his parents. Everyone in this
sad story is Jewish, including a shadowy businessman who called himself the
Bagel King of Long Island, but the word "Jewish" barely comes up in the
coverage.
That's because the Orthodox are in many ways Judaism's standard-bearers - and as
a result, all Jews feel implicated when a guy in a yarmulke does the perp walk.
That's how I felt after reading an investigative piece in northern New Jersey's
Bergen Record about the various Jewish-run "charities" that seek used car
donations to "Help Children in Need."
One, The Outreach Center, turns out to be a Brooklyn synagogue, and several of
the charities it says it supports say they haven't received any payments since
2002.
At the very least, the article paints a disturbing picture of Jewish
institutions raising money for their own purposes while playing on the
sympathies of donors who think they are helping kids of all faiths (and
certainly aren't interested in supporting a religious institution's
particularistic agenda).
IS IT UNFAIR for folks like me to expect more of those who are so visible in
their embrace of the mitzvot? Not entirely. "In a way, this is a kind of tribute
to Orthodoxy," wrote Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, discussing similar scrutiny in the
wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal.
"It is a recognition that Orthodoxy has a higher standard, and anyone who would
stand under its umbrella is held - I think rightfully - to this higher
standard."
Feldman, the former editor of the Modern Orthodox journal Tradition, reminded
his fellow Orthodox Jews of the concept of hilul Hashem, the desecration of the
Holy Name.
"This means that every Jew is responsible that the good Name of the God of
Israel be preserved; he or she is bidden to behave in such a way that the good
Name of God - which he represents - not be sullied, and that, on the contrary,
it be sanctified," wrote Feldman. "The more pious the Jew, the greater his
responsibility in this regard."
That doesn't at all excuse the Orthodox-bashers. They're also "preying on
members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities."
And there's a name for that too: anti-Semitism.
The writer is editor in chief of the New Jersey Jewish News.
OUTREACH CENTER CAR DONATION SCAM
The Outreach Center, turns out to be a Brooklyn synagogue, and several of the
charities it says it supports say they haven't received any payments since 2002.
Outreach Center is a Jewish institution raising money for their own purposes
while playing on the sympathies of donors who think they are helping kids -
DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICE IS AGAINST THE LAW!