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Last update - 20:27 21/12/2008
Members of exclusive N.Y. synagogue lose collective $2 billion in Madoff scam
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Jewish world, synagogue 

Hanukkah, which began Sunday, will not bring light and joy to the famous Modern Orthodox synagogue, situated in an upscale Manhattan neighborhood, known to many within the Jewish community as the "Fifth Avenue Synagogue."

The revelation that has dampened the joy of the holiday for the Fifth Avenue worshippers is the discovery that the Madoff scam - the $50 billion "Ponzi scheme" that may rank among the biggest fraud cases ever - cost the members of the synagogue a collective $2 billion, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The fraud has crippled the synagogue, which boasts some of New York's elite as members.
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Bernard Madoff, who has been arrested on suspicion of having incurred the loss of $50 billion to charities, financial institutions and private investors, is not a member of the synagogue and did not attend it. However, several long-time Fifth Avenue Synagogue worshippers are among the list of the scam's biggest victims.

According to the New York Post, the synagogue was a breeding ground for Madoff investors given that its president, J. Ezra Merkin, reportedly served as a powerful recruiter for the alleged scamster.

At least 10 of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue members lost millions to the scam. The report names Ira Rennert, the chairman of the synagogue board, who reportedly invested $200 million with Madoff's company. Author and Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel was also listed as a long-time Fifth Avenue Synagogue member whose foundation lost $37 million.

Another synagogue member hurt by the scheme was investment banker Michael Jesselson, whose Orthodox Jewish school in The Bronx took a $1.3 million hit.

The Fifth Avenue Synagogue was founded some 50 years ago, and its official name is Ateret Zvi. Some 300 families belong to the synagogue.

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      1.   Madoff and the big fraud 00:16  |  manijeh 22/12/08
      2.   And the Dubai government fund lost $.4 billion 00:58  |  Mark Lincoln 22/12/08
      3.   MADOFF, MY HERO 02:52  |  VIPER 22/12/08
      4.   Equal opportunity embezzler 05:56  |  Shmuelshachor 22/12/08
      5.   More peaceful 06:04  |  A Quaker 22/12/08
      6.   These people are MULTI-millionaires 07:01  |  dov epstein 22/12/08
      7.   Antisemites are having a field day over Madoff 07:10  |  Naftali Lavie 22/12/08
      8.   Jew lose 2 billion 08:17  |  Shahid 22/12/08
      9.   Jews lose 2 billion 08:18  |  Shahid 22/12/08
      10.   Best news in 40 years of Zionist occupation 11:11  |  Chanalau, Tova 22/12/08
      11.   I REALLY FEEL SO SORRY 11:22  |  Robert 22/12/08
      12.   a hero 11:44  |  dan 22/12/08
      13.   No. 7 How appropriate on Hannuka - hellenizing 11:56  |  Dan 22/12/08
      14.   No more money for eccentric hobbies. 12:35  |  Andreas 22/12/08
      15.   Madoff not really so terrible 12:42  |  JJenkins 22/12/08
      16.   number 15 your are an IDIOT 12:53  |  Moshe 22/12/08
      17.   RE: Shahid, who cares? 14:00  |  judith 22/12/08
      18.   Same as social security. 14:03  |  judith 22/12/08
      19.   Bernir MadeOff with da` Money 14:49  |  eddie - Haifa 22/12/08
      20.   Too big for jail! 14:55  |  jerryr 22/12/08
      21.   The Same Old Problem 16:00  |  Yaakov Sullivan 22/12/08
      22.   "Exclusive" N.Y. synagogue? I didn`t know Hashem was selective. 16:06  |  Bennie 22/12/08
      23.   Our Leaders Have to Protest Him 16:17  |  Dave 22/12/08
      24.   RE: Yaacov Sullivan 16:53  |  judith 22/12/08
      25.   To Yaakov Sullivan 16:54  |  Thomas 22/12/08
      26.   #21 and #22 18:32  |  Airborne 22/12/08
      27.   The Emperor had no clothes... 20:00  |  Basil 22/12/08
      28.   To Y Sullivan and his critics 20:37  |  Morris Valentine 22/12/08
      29.   "Mad Dog" Madoff 20:44  |  I. Kardijan 22/12/08
      30.   The fifth avenue synagogue became even more exclusive 21:12  |  Boris 22/12/08
      31.   Morris Valentine 00:05  |  judith 23/12/08
      32.   Yakov Sullivan - Read the NY Times 11:19  |  Jay A Friedman 23/12/08
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