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Nov 17, 2009 8:45 am US/Eastern
Attorney Scandals Spark Anti-Semitic Online Posts
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein and imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff are both in the headlines in connection with Ponzi schemes. Now, both have become the targets of hateful comments online because they are both Jewish. Their names in the news have generated a resurgence of anti-semitism on-line. It's a troubling trend the Anti-Defamation League is tracking. The ADL says it's logged a surge in anti-Semitic remarks about Rothstein and Madoff.
"You know it's unfortunate," said Andrew Rosenkranz, Florida Regional Director of the Anti-defamation League. "Some of the things that we're seeing are absolutely disgusting and it plays upon the age old stereotype, the age old canards of Jews and money."
ADL investigators have found the bigoted comments posted on local newspapers in comment sections after the articles, financial blog sites and social networking sites. The following quote was taken from a comment posted after a Miami Herald article about Rothstein: "In my opinion, the fact that they are Jews should not be overlooked, simply because so many white collar crooks and political sewer rats share their heritage. I wasn't referring to a religious affiliation, but to a statistical observation."
Rosenkranz said the Miami Herald and other papers have responded responsibly by taking down such offensive comments. But just as soon as they are brought down, it seems new ones pop up. "People can post it again and again and it's sort of a cat and mouse game that you see sometimes," he said.
The ADL said the anonymity of cyberspace is contributing to an increase in this type of rhetoric and that's prompting them to increase their fight against it.
"It's our job to make sure that when we do see these kinds of trends that we point them out," said Rosenkranz. "That we make politicians, that we make the decision makers, that we make the public aware of this trend that's occurring in society."
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