*Jewish-American organized crime* (sometimes called the *Jewish Mob*, *Jewish Mafia*, *Kosher Mafia*, or the *Kosher Nostra*[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-ji190908-1>—a play on words of *Cosa Nostra <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosa_Nostra>*), emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the late 19th century in New York City, Monk Eastman <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_Eastman> operated a powerful Jewish gang <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Gang> that competed with Italian and Irish gangs, notably Paul Kelly <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kelly_(criminal)>'s Five Points Gang <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points_Gang>, for control of New York City <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City>'s underworld.
In the early 1920s, stimulated by the economic opportunities of the Roaring Twenties <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties> and later, Prohibition <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition>, organized crime figures such as Arnold Rothstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Rothstein> were controlling a wide range of criminal enterprises. According to crime writer Leo Katcher <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Katcher>, Rothstein "transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity by hoodlums into a big business, run like a corporation, with himself at the top."[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-Katcher.2C_Leo_1994-2> Rothstein was allegedly responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_World_Series>.[3] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-Pietrusza.2C_David_2003-3> The largely Jewish-American gang known as Murder Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_Inc.>, and Jewish mobsters such as Meyer Lansky <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Lansky>, Mickey Cohen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Cohen>, and Bugsy Siegel <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsy_Siegel> would also gain significant influence within the Italian American Mafia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_American_Mafia>. For decades after, Jewish-American mobsters would continue to work closely and at times compete with Italian-American organized crime.[4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-sifakis319-4> In more recent years, Jewish-American organized crime has reappeared in the forms of both Israeli and Jewish-Russian mafia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_mafia> criminal groups. The Soviet <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union> and Russian <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia>émigré community in New York's Brighton Beach <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_Beach> contains a large Jewish presence, as does its criminal element. Some of these newer American-based Jewish gangsters, such as Ludwig Fainberg <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Fainberg> (who has lived in Ukraine, Israel and the United States but never Russia), share more in common culturally with Russia and the Soviet republics than their predecessors such as Meyer Lansky.[27] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-27> Israeli mobsters also have had a presence in the United States. The Israeli mafia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_mafia> (such as the Abergil crime family <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abergil_crime_family>) is heavily involved in ecstasy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA> trafficking in America.[28] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-bbc070604-28> Jewish-American organized crime and Israel[edit <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jewish-American_organized_crime&action=edit§ion=7> ] Several notable Jewish American mobsters provided financial support for Israel <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel> through donations to Jewish organizations since the country's creation in 1948. Jewish-American gangsters used Israel's Law of Return <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Return> to flee criminal charges or face deportation. Notables include Joseph "Doc" Stacher <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stacher>, who built up Las Vegas by pairing the Jewish and Italian Mafia into a national organized crime syndicate. Prime Minister Golda Meir <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir> set out to reverse this trend in 1970 when she denied entrance to Meyer Lansky. He was the mob's accountant, thought to be among the most powerful people in the country, with a gambling empire stretching throughout the United States.[*citation needed <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed>*] In 2010, it was reported by Wikileaks <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak> that the United States Embassy in Israel, in a cable titled "Israel: The Promised Land of Organized Crime?", had expressed grave concern about the activities of Israeli organized crime figures and was taking measures to prevent members of crime families from being issued visas to the United States. American diplomats expressed concern that Inbal Gavrieli <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbal_Gavrieli>, the daughter of one of Israel's most powerful mafia bosses, had been elected to the Knesset as a MK for Likud.[29] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime#cite_note-29> On Tuesday, October 28, 2014 2:14:53 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islam-and-the-mafia-making-an-offer-you-cant-refuse/ > > > Islam and the Mafia: ‘Making An Offer You Can’t Refuse’ > > By *Raymond Ibrahim* > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/author/raymond-ibrahim/> on October 28, > 2014 > > > > *Editor’s note**: The following is Part Three of a three-part series > examining the many parallels between Islam and the mafia following Bill > Maher’s recent exclamation that Islam is “the only religion that acts like > the mafia, that will f***ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the > wrong picture, or write the wrong book.” Click for **Part One* > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islam-more-like-the-mafia-than-bill-maher-knows-part-1/>* > and > for **Part Two* > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/loyalty-and-enmity-parallels-between-islam-and-the-mafia/> > *.* > > [image: > http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/im-going-to-make-him-an-offer-he-cant-refuse.jpg] > > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/im-going-to-make-him-an-offer-he-cant-refuse.jpg> > > *Coercion and Death Threats* > > Although the novel turned movie, *The Godfather*, is fictitious, it also > captures much of the mafia’s modus operandi. Consider, for example, that > most famous of lines—“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeldwfOwuL8&spfreload=10>”—spoken by the > Godfather to one of his “godsons,” an aspiring actor and singer, who, after > being turned down by a studio director for a role that he desperately > wanted, turns to his Godfather for aid. > > As the movie progresses, we discover that the offer that the director > can’t refuse is nothing less than violence and the threat of death: after > the Godfather’s messenger to the director asking that the actor be given > the role is again rejected, the studio head awakes to find the bloodied and > decapitated head of his favorite stallion in bed with him. The godson > subsequently gets the movie role. > > Throughout the context of the entire *Godfather* trilogy—and indeed, in > the context of the mafia—making someone “an offer they can’t refuse”—comes > to mean “do as I say or suffer the consequences,” possibly death. > > Compare this to Islam’s threefold choice. On Muhammad’s orders, whenever > Islamic jihadis conquer a territory, they are to “offer” non-Muslim > inhabitants three choices: 1) convert to Islam, 2) maintain your own > religion (an option technically only available to Christians and Jews) but > pay tribute and live as a subdued third-class citizen, a “dhimmi,” or 3) > die. > > Not only do the primary historical texts written by authoritative Muslims > record this aspect of Islam, but to this very day, Islam’s threefold choice > is making headlines, most recently at the hands of the Islamic State > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/western-ignorance-of-the-conditions-of-omar/> > . > > *The ‘Protection Racket’* > > Once the mafia gains a “territory,” one of the primary ways it profits is > by collecting “protection money” from the inhabitants. While the > protection racket has several faces, one in particular is akin to an > Islamic institution: the idea of coercing people in the mafia’s territory > to pay money for “protection,” ostensibly from outside forces, when in fact > the protection bought is from the mafia itself—that is, extortion money, or > pizzo <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzo_(extortion)>. Potential > “clients” who refuse the mafia’s “protection” often have their property > vandalized and are routinely threatened and harassed. > > Compare *pizzo* with the Islamic concept of jizya: The word jizya > appears in Koran 9:29: “Fight those among the People of the Book > [Christians and Jews] who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor > forbid what Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the > religion of truth, *until they pay the jizya with willing submission and > feel themselves subdued* (emphasis added).” > > In the hadith > <http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/muslim/019-smt.php#019.4294>, > > the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad—in our analogy, the “underboss”—regularly > calls on Muslims to demand jizya of non-Muslims: “If they refuse to accept > Islam,” said the Islamic prophet, “demand from them the jizya. If they > agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse > to pay jizya, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” > > The root meaning of the Arabic word “jizya” is simply to “repay” or > “recompense,” basically to “compensate” for something. According to the > *Hans > Wehr Dictionary*, the standard Arabic-English dictionary, jizya is > something that “takes the place” of something else, or “serves instead.” > > Simply put, conquered non-Muslims were to *purchase their lives*, which > were otherwise forfeit to their Muslim conquerors, with money. Instead of > taking their lives, they took their money. As one medieval jurist > succinctly puts it, “their lives and their possessions are only protected > by reason of payment of jizya” (*Crucified Again*, p. 22). > > Interestingly, just as the mafia rationalizes its collection of > “protection money” by portraying it as money paid to buy mafia protection > against “outsiders”—when, as mentioned, the money/tribute serves only to > protect the client from the mafia itself—so too do Islam’s apologists > portray the collection of jizya > <http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islamic-jizya-protection-from-whom/> > as money meant to buy Muslim protection from outsiders, when in fact the > money/jizya buys protection from Muslims themselves. > > *Conclusion: Mafia—What’s In a Word?* > > What accounts for all these similarities between Islam and the mafia? It > is further telling that the word mafia itself, which means “hostility to > the law, boldness,” is believed to be derived from the Arabic slang word, > mahya <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mafia?s=t>, which in > translation means “bragging, boasting, bravado, and swaggering.” > > This etymology is a reminder that Sicily, birthplace of the mafia, was > under Arab/Islamic domination for over 200 years. Aside from a borrowed > etymology, could much of the mafia’s modus operandi also have been borrowed > from Islam? Could native Sicilians, over the centuries, have co-opted the > techniques of social controls that they had lived under and learned from > their former overlords—albeit free from their Islamic trappings? > > Either way, when HBO personality Bill Maher recently proclaimed that Islam > is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f***ing kill you > if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong > book”—he was barely touching the tip of the iceberg of similarities between > Islam and the mafia. > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdWp1NzlmBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MTQ1MTM2NDg-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcDdmNGI0BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQxNDUxMzY0OA--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
