Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Traditional Jewish Ethics

Psychology professor Kevin MacDonald writes:
A recurrent theme here is the contrast between the moral universalism of the West versus Jewish moral particularism. Moral universalism is a corrollary of individualism: Groups have no moral standing. Stealing doesn’t become right depending on what group the victim belongs to.

But Jewish ethics is based fundamentally on the group status of perpetrator and victim. It’s okay if the victim is from a different group. And within the group, ethics is structured so that the group as a whole benefits: What’s good for the Jews.

Dennis Praeger has a nice column on traditional Jewish moral particularism (“Can Halachah ever be wrong?“).
Suppose you ordered an electric shaver from a store owned by non-Jews, and by accident the store sent you two shavers. Would you return the second shaver?

Nine said they would not. One said he would.

What is critical to understand is why they answered the way they did. The nine who would not return the second shaver were not crooks. They explained that halachah (Jewish law) forbade them from returning the other shaver. According to halachah, as they had been taught it, a Jew is forbidden to return a lost item to a non-Jew. The only exception is if the non-Jew knows a Jew found the item and not returning it would cause anti-Semitism or a Khilul Hashem (desecration of God’s name). The one who said he would return it gave that very reason — that it would be a Khilul Hashem if he didn’t return it and could be a Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God’s name) if he did. But he, too, did not believe he was halachically bound to return the shaver.

The nine were not wrong, and they were not taught wrong. That is the halachah. Rambam (Maimonides) ruled that a Jew is permitted to profit from a non-Jew’s business error.
In fairness, the Jewish ADL has written an essay calling people anti-Semites if they quote the Talmud for the purpose of criticizing Jewish law:
The Talmud - the classic text of Jewish law and lore, history and philosophy - increasingly is being used by extremists to promote their anti-Semitism. In a new report, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) exposes the lies of anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers and others who cite Talmudic texts as evidence that Judaism is "perverted" or "immoral."

"It has become a common refrain among the anti-Semites that the Talmud is the 'smoking gun' that confirms their belief about Jews being stingy, malevolent and intent on world domination," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "They create this myth about Jewish practices and tradition, which helps to further justify and promote their anti-Semitism."
Well, you can read the Talmud quotes for yourself. If the ADL were right about this, then it could just explain the facts, and not go around calling everyone anti-Semites.

This helps explain the ethics of psychologist Ken Perlmutter of Palo Alto. He got a $28,000 windfall from me as a result of being appointed by Jewish Commissioner Irwin H. Joseph, and he adamantly insisted that he had no obligations to me, a non-Jew, or to my kids. He admitted straight to my face that I had been falsely accused of abuse, that I was just as good a parent as my ex-wife, and that there was no psychological or legal reason to deny me access to my kids. And yet he would not lift a finger to help us or to do what he was paid to do. He was punishing me and my kids out of pure personal animosity and profit.

According to Jewish Talmudic ethical law, a Jew must always side with the false accusation of a Jew against a non-Jew. If there is money available from a non-Jew, a Jew pockets the money and has no responsibility to provide honest services. The ADL denies this, but traditional "Judaism views non-Jews as a subhuman species deserving only hatred and contempt from its Jewish superiors."

Most American Jews do not subscribe to this, as far as I know. They probably have never read the Talmud. I am just describing traditional Jewish ethics, and the ethics of unscrupulous quacks like Perlmutter.

Sunday's CBS 60 Minutes show on Jack Abramoff said:
Jack Abramoff may be the most notorious and crooked lobbyist of our time. He was at the center of a massive scandal of brazen corruption and influence peddling. ... He was so good at it, he took home $20 million a year. ...

Jack Abramoff: I was so far into it that I couldn't figure out where right and wrong was. I believed that I was among the top moral people in the business. I was totally blinded by what was going on. ...

Abramoff prided himself on being a man who did good. He was devoutly religious and exorbitantly charitable and he says he gave away 80 percent of his earnings. When he fell from grace, his reputation was in tatters because it was not just that he had corrupted Congress - it was found he had cheated his clients, like the Indian tribes.

Abramoff: Most of the money I made I gave away, to either communal or charitable causes. So I thought frankly I was one of the most moral lobbyists out there. ...

Abramoff: My first response was, "What's the big deal? I don't understand what this is about. This is what lobbyists do.
The show said that Abramoff was "devoutly religious", but never mentioned his religion. He was an orthodox Jew. He thought that cheating Indian tribes out of money was the moral thing to do.

I have detailed my ethical complaint against Perlmutter. I did not know anything about traditional Jewish ethics, but it describes Perlmutter perfectly. I have never met anyone else with such a premeditated disregard for human life, such greedy money collection for incompetent work, and such immoral maliciousness. No Christian would do what Perlmutter did.

Again, I want to make it clear that I am not criticizing all Jews. I am criticizing Ken Perlmutter, the corrupt profession he belongs to, and the ethical tradition that he subscribes to.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remember, you don't even know if Perlmutter is Jewish ?

It's been proven to you in past posts/comments that a Christian evaluator charged even far more for an evaluation after you claimed that a Christian evaluator would never charge as much as this "alleged" Jew had charged you.

What's it matter about MacDoanld, you claim that you don't know much about him and his politics, and then wrote how you did in fact know his politics..

Nothing you've posted is at all consistent with what you've said in the past, or can't you remember ?

Grow up !

George said...

My complaint about Perlmutter is not just the amount of money he charged. He is much more evil than that.

I am not citing MacDonald for his political views. He quotes a Jewish site. If he said something wrong, then please post a correction.

Anonymous said...

Well why did you make abig deal about what he charged and point it out and say that a Christian would never charge so much ? Because you're not complaining ?

As for MacDonald, he quotes a Jewish cite to make his political view.

Grow up!

Anonymous said...

Again, how do you even know that Perlmutter is Jewish ? Does it even matter to you, or will any excuse serve you to bash minorities ?

George said...

Yes, I did complain about how Perlmutter overcharged me. And I would have complained about him regardless of his religion.

MacDonald is entitled to his political views, whatever they are.

Anonymous said...

My complaint about Perlmutter is not just the amount of money he charged.

Yes, I did complain about how Perlmutter overcharged me.

ok...

And I would have complained about him regardless of his religion.

Yes, you would have complained about Jews regardless of his religion, because you don't even know his religion..


Again, how do you even know that Perlmutter is Jewish ?

MacDonald is entiltled to his political views and you can agree or not with whatever you want, and for whatever meaningless reasons.

Anonymous said...

No Christian would do what Perlmutter did.


We've already proven within your blog that Christian evaluators have done worse, that is if Perlmutter isn't a Christian.

You don't even know that much, ruight ?

George said...

I did not say that Perlmutter was the worst evaluator out there. There may be worse ones. However, Perlmutter's work was particularly anti-Christian, and I do not know of an example of a Christian evaluator who did similar work. If you know of an example, please post it.

Anonymous said...

Dear George - you FINALLY found a psychologsit that you trust - Kevin MacDonald! BTW, I like very much when you wrote: "Again, I want to make it clear that I am not criticizing all Jews". That is a breath of fresh air and a very constructive comment. Barbara

George said...

No, Barbara, I am not quoting MacDonald because I trust him. I am quoting him because he documents what he says. I always made it clear that I was not criticizing all Jews.

Anonymous said...

Again, how do you even know that Perlmutter is Jewish ?

Anonymous said...

George,

I read that you're half Jewish from your mother's side, before her side converted to Catholicism. Is that true ?

George said...

Is that supposed to discredit me somehow? Or mean that it is okay to discuss Jewish issues? Or that I am a self-hating Jew?

No, I don't see how you could have read that anywhere. But I don't know all my ancestors, and it is always possible that one or more of them were Jewish.

Anonymous said...

It's not to discredit you, or mean anything other than I read it, and it was specific in what it stated.

That's all.

Anonymous said...

he adamantly insisted that he had no obligations to me, a non-Jew, or to my kids.

Did he ever say the word Jew or Christian, or even mention religion to you or the court ?

How do you know that he is Jewish ?

George said...

It would be funny if Perlmutter converted to Islam or Scientology.

Anonymous said...

How do you know that he's not Islamic or a Scientologist ? You don't know what religion he is right now, do you ?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

CENSORSHIP...

George said...

I deleted a couple of comments that had personal attacks on my family. Please make more constructive comments.

Anonymous said...

That's not what you deleted.

George said...

Both messages were about my mom, and one was also about my brother. They were rude, personal, and off-topic.

Anonymous said...

What's your point about Abramoff ? John Gotti was a very religious Catholic who gave a lot of money to charities, too. Do you see much of a difference ?

George said...

Gotti was a mobster who had men murdered if they got in his way. Abramoff was a respected lobbyist. If you are trying to make the point that non-Jews commit crimes also, I accept that.

Anonymous said...

Did Perlmutter or Joseph ever say the word Jew or Christian, or even mention religion to you or the court ?

How do you know that either is Jewish ?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
George said...

No, I do not make personal attacks and I do not want anonymous personal attacks in the comments.

Anonymous said...

ok.Did Perlmutter or Joseph ever say the word Jew or Christian, or even mention religion to you or the court ?

How do you know that either is Jewish ?

Anonymous said...

Again, I want to make it clear that I am not criticizing all Jews. I am criticizing Ken Perlmutter, the corrupt profession he belongs to, and the ethical tradition that he subscribes to.

You don't make personal attacks, huh ?

Anonymous said...

Personal attacks.. I have never met anyone else with such a premeditated disregard for human life, such greedy money collection for incompetent work, and such immoral maliciousness. No Christian would do what Perlmutter did.

George said...

Perlmutter was acting in his capacity as a court official. I certainly believe in holding govt officials accountable for what they do.

Anonymous said...

A lot of the surnames that sound Jewish to Americans are simply German names such as Klein, Gross or Grossman, Weiss or Weisman, Rosen, Schwartz or Schwartzman, Segal, Siegal or Sagal, and anything that contains berg, stein, man, thal or bluth. German surnames are very common among American Jews, and many people seem to have inferred the converse: if most Jews have German surnames, then most people with German surnames must be Jews. The reasoning is appealing on a gut-level but logically flawed. Consider this absurd but logically identical argument: most Jews have ten fingers, therefore most people with ten fingers must be Jews.

Anonymous said...

If you know such an example of a Christian heterosexual family man, then please tell me and I will post it.

Doyne is an "irish" name so it's doubtful that he is not a jew, and likely he is a catholic or christian.

SAN DIEGO -- Dr. Stephen Doyne, PhD, is widely used in the San Diego Family Court as a custody evaluator. His job is to advise the court on where children of divorce should live, which parent is more fit. The evaluations can be costly, both in emotion and dollars. Clients told the 10 News I-Team they paid Doyne between $5,000 and $30,000.

also...

How much will winning this war cost me?
E-mail: BillHoge@usa.net
Website: www.DivorceInKentucky.com
Fax: (502) 583-1223
Phone: (502) 583-2005

Custody battles are very expensive. Attorney fees of
$15,000 to $30,000 are not considered high for a true custody evaluations.
There's many other examples charging more that the $19,000 you paid. I'm guessing that they are all not Jews, and are all heterosexuals, but you have to figure most or soem are.
1:57 PM
Anonymous said...

In Westchester County, an expert charged parents $57,000 for a report that the judge found
extremely biased toward the father.

Triple what a Jew, Perlmutter charged you.

You figure, anytime a parent pays $19,000 or more for an evaluation, a Jew is on the receiving end, and a christian, heterosexaul, family man never is ?

re Joe Kenan B.H. Cal.

This character continues to get court referrals The "consultant" presents bills for $40,000 -$50,000, court mandated.

.
2:27 PM
George said...

I found Stephen Doyne's own web site, and his Yelp page. All four reviews give him the lowest rating. One says, "This man is a charlatan. His only concern is how much money he can extract from his unsuspecting clients (read victims)."

My complaints about Ken Perlmutter go far beyond the money he charged. For a summary, see this complaint. He is not the only crook in the system, but I want to hold him accountable for what he did.
2:49 PM
Anonymous said...

They weren't just unhappy with what he charged either, as well. Point being, you got a much more fair price by having the Jew, than they did with the Christian, assuming he has a family, and isn't a divorced Chrstian like you. Or however you figure out that part.
3:01 PM
Anonymous said...

and the evalutor wanted more than $30,000 for a full written report, and over $50,000 to testify. A scam if there ever was one.


George, that's $80,000, for what you had to pay Perlmutter only $28,000 for.
3:05 PM

Anonymous said...

I had the advantage that I was able to ask Perlmutter.


Here is what you said about Perlmutter's and Johnson's bias, and never answered


"they were both unable to give any explanation for their opinions other than their own anti-Christian hatred."

What were the anti christian explanations that they gave for their opinions ?

What did they say that gave themselves away as christian haters ?
10:03 AM
4:32 PM
George said...

You have posted a lot of messages here, but I am not sure what your point is. Are you arguing that Jewishness has nothing to do with what Perlmutter did in my case? If so, why would you think that?

Or are you saying that I should not post anything about Perlmutter's biases, and that I should just restrict my comments to his incompetence or his greed? If so, why shouldn't I speak about everything that I think is unjust?

Or are you saying that mentioning Jewishness is so politically incorrect that I will be punished for it? If I had a Mormon evaluator who applied Mormonism to my case, would it be wrong to complain about that?
5:04 PM
Anonymous said...

I'm just asking you these same 2 questions again, and you're just not answering them again.

What were the anti christian explanations that they gave for their opinions ?

What did they say that gave themselves away as christian haters ?
10:03 AM

"they were both unable to give any explanation for their opinions other than their own anti-Christian hatred."
5:29 PM

Anonymous said...

How do you know that Morse is not a jew ? or Bret Johnson ?

A Jew Examines the Holocaust
www.jewishmag.com/32mag/morse/morse.htm - United States By Charles Morse, an American Jew,


Boris Johnson And oh, yes, of course:Has Jewish roots
11:09 AM
George said...

Morse and Johnson are not Jewish names, as far as I know. But I have no idea about their ancestry or religion.
11:19 AM
Anonymous said...

Look, Mitchell is a jewish name..Maybe Sally Mitchell is a Jew ?

Andrea Mitchell's Close-Up
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1617408/posts18 Apr 2006 – We gather Dan Rottenberg did not like Andrea Mitchell's new memoir ... for a young Jewish woman barely out of college

Maybe you don't know anything about
what a Jewish name might be or not be.
11:28 AM
Anonymous said...

what are the chances you can simply let go of your "Jew psychologist" hangup until the number of "corruption" cases concerning them is greater than the number of Catholic priests accused of child molestation? or until they outnumber the children killed in Syria? get back to us when one of those things happens. in the meantime, please find something reasonable to complain about. publicly making yourself into a conspiracy theorist nut case is not going to get your children back!
11:39 AM

George said...

Here is a list of Jewish surnames. It is true that you cannot always tell if someone is Jewish from the name.

Anonymous said...

You were the one who wrote that Perlmutter was Jewish because of his name, right ?

George said...

No, not just because of his name. But if Perlmutter converts to Satanism, please let me know.

Anonymous said...

So are you saying that ONE OF THE REASONS YOU KNOW HE IS JEWISH IS BECAUSE OF HIS NAME ? Are you saying that there is another or other reasons you know he is Jewish besides his name ? Are you just being vague and evasive and dodging the question ?

George said...

I have not personally examined whether he is circumcised, if that is what you are asking.

Anonymous said...

No, here's what I'm asking...

Are you saying that ONE OF THE REASONS YOU KNOW HE IS JEWISH IS BECAUSE OF HIS NAME ? Are you saying that there is another or other reasons you know he is Jewish besides his name ? Are you just being vague and evasive and dodging the question ?

Sorry if I wasn't being clear.

George said...

Yes, his name is one of the reasons. I said so here.

Anonymous said...

Yes this is what you said..

Ken Perlmutter has a Jewish name, lives in a Jewish community, works in a Jewish profession, and has Jewish beliefs and values. It matters to me because he used his influence to prevent me from seeing my kids

It was proven to you that where he works and lives is mostly non Jewish, and so is his profession.

You also stated above the following..

It is true that you cannot always tell if someone is Jewish from the name.

So what are you left with other than some weak sort of speculation ?
1:16 PMAre you saying that there is another or other reasons you know he is Jewish besides his name ?

Are you just being vague and evasive and dodging the question ?

George said...

If you have some other explanation for Perlmutter's prejudices, I would be happy to hear it.

Anonymous said...

He was able to take alot of your money from you, just like others did and he did to others, regardless of your or his own religion/politics.

Anonymous said...

yOU PRINT LIES ABOUT JEWS AND THE TALMUD

The Accusation

O.K. to Cheat Non-Jews, Sanhedrin 57a .

This is perhaps one of the worst lies stated. The Talmud and post-Talmudic literature absolutely and unequivocally forbid lying to anyone, whether Jew or gentile. It is forbidden to cheat or to profit from lying. Consider the following passage:


Talmud Chullin 94a

As Shmuel said: It is forbidden to deceive anyone, even an idolatrous gentile.

This statement is affirmed in Maimonides' famous legal work the Mishneh Torah (Hilchot Deiot 2:6) and in the Shulchan Aruch (code of law - Choshen Mishpat 228:6). The concept is evident throughout Jewish literature. A few other places where it can be found as law are: Rabbi Yom Tov ben Avraham Alashbili, Chiddushei HaRitva, Chullin ad. loc.; Rabbi Yehudah HaChasid, Sefer Chasidim, 51; Rabbi Eliezer from Metz, Sefer Yerei'im, 124; Rabbi Elazar Azkiri, Sefer Chareidim, 29:20; Rabbi Yehudah Rosannes, Derech Pekudecha, 2:36:2; Rabbi Moshe from Coucy, Sefer Mitzvot HaGadol (Smag), 1:74, 2:155; Rabbi Yonah from Gerona, Sha'arei Teshuvah (Gates of Repentance), 3:184; Rabbi Shmuel Eidels, Chiddushei Maharsha - Chiddushei Aggadot, Chullin ad. loc.

There is, perhaps, no clearer denunciation than the following of Maimonides in his commentary to the Mishnah:


Maimonides, Commentary to the Mishnah, Keilim 12:7

And similiarly, lies, tricks, subterfuges, cheatings, and circumventions of gentiles are forbidden. They said [as quoted above] 'It is forbidden to deceive anyone, even an idolatrous gentile' and even more so when it can lead to the desecration of G-d's name. For that is a great sin and imbues in a person bad traits. And all these wicked actions G-d explained that He will be disgusted with them and with those who perform them, as it says: (Deuteronomy 18:12) "For anyone who does these is an abomination of G-d."

With this in mind, let us approach the text in question.


Talmud Bava Kamma 113b

Shmuel said: Their mistakes are permitted. Like when Shmuel bought from a gentile a golden bowl (with the seller thinking it was bronze) for four zuz and accidentally paid him one zuz less.

The Talmud is not stating that it is permissible to cheat a gentile. We saw above that the Talmud specifically forbids that. What the Talmud is saying is that normal business relations is for each party of a transaction to be responsible for their side of the deal. If Shmuel found a cheap bowl and, after accidentally underpaying, the seller did not count his money, then Shmuel was not obligated to correct the seller. The seller was negligent and Shmuel did not have to correct his mistake. For one's brothers and relatives one must go beyond the standard practice of business relations and correct all mistakes - return lost change, explain all misunderstandings, etc. However, for a business relation with whom there is mutual respect and understanding but nothing more, one conducts business by following convention.

In case the preceding has been unclear, let me restate it. A Jew is not obligated to correct a gentile's business mistakes. The Jew may not trick the gentile but if the gentile has been careless then the sale is nevertheless valid.

George said...

Thanks for explaining this. No doubt Abramoff and Perlmutter could rationalize the fees they collected by saying that it was a "standard practice of business".

Anonymous said...

Same goes for John Gotti regarding murder and extortion. too.