ADL: Anti-Semitic posts flood Internet in wake of fraud

The alleged $50 billion fraud by financier Bernard Madoff has prompted an outpouring of anti-Semitic comments on mainstream and extremist Web sites, the Anti-Defamation League said yesterday.

The organization said some of the posts on highly trafficked sites spread conspiracy theories about Jews stealing money to benefit Israel and suggest "only Jews could perpetrate a fraud on such a scale."

These and other anti-Jewish tropes about Jews and money have appeared on popular blogs devoted to finance, in comment sections of mainstream news outlets and in banter among users of Internet discussion groups.

"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat ... but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," said Abraham Foxman, ADL National Director.