Madoff & Merkin mensch?

New York has a very long piece, Monster Mensch, which profiles Bernie & J. Ezra Merkin. Psychoanalysis can get kind of old, the profile is more interesting in terms of the light it sheds on other figures in Bernie's world.

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One thing that this article brings up implicitly but hasn't really been discussed explicitly enough is the issue of how much of what happened with Madoff might be due to how the Jewish community functions. It is very trusting of its own especially if they meet certain expectations (such as philanthropy). I don't know how much this is unique to Jewish culture but it certainly played a role. If Madoff had not given so much to charity and had not been a mensch this likely could not have happened.