ADL Bestows Honor on Madoff
[ ![][2]][2]
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was re-graced yesterday when the Anti-Defamation League awarded him the Inadvertently Good for the Jews prize for his work in “demolishing a centuries-old stereotype: that Jews are good with money.”
In a lavish ceremony held near the breakfast nook of the Madoffs’ Upper East Side apartment — where Madoff is currently confined to house arrest — ADL National Director Abraham Foxman presented Madoff with the coveted IGFJ prize (the “Igg-Fudge”).
Upon receiving the honor, Madoff was visibly moved, albeit not outside of his electronic security perimeter. Speaking at the podium/wet bar, he pledged to accept the award, and “within six months’ time, turn it into a Nobel Prize.”
The award — a Pyrex figurine depicting a cartoonish “Shylock” figure having his hook nose circumcised — honors “Jews who have subverted, nay, shechted Jewish canards until they’re bloodier than an Aaron’s Best rump roast.”
Past honorees include Paul Wolfowitz in the field of World Mastery, Steve Gutenberg, for Humor and Amy Winehouse, Intelligence.
Still, for some, Madoff is in a category all his own — quite possibly one he invented. “Madoff’s schemes had a ripple effect,” says Neal Isaacson, Tolerated Professor of Judaeophobic Studies at Toronto’s Cartier University. “The alleged Ponzi scheme exposed the financial idiocy of hundreds if not thousands of Jews across the investment world. At last, this shameful, lucrative chapter in our history can be closed.”
Foxman agrees. “With his spectacular loss of billions of dollars,” he said, “Madoff has accomplished what billions of ADL press releases and full-page ads have somehow been unable to.
“It’s a shande for the goyim, and we couldn’t be prouder.”
“The Daily Show” writer Rob Kutner’s annual Purim shpiel, THE SHUSHAN CHANNEL, goes live March 9 at 92Y Tribeca.
[]: https://forward.com/backward-purim/
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.