Harvey Weinstein is an embarrassment -- for Jews, for men, for Democrats, for Hollywood, for humankind

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Allegations mount against Weinstein as women speak out

Hillary Clinton and former President Obama condemn the movie giant amid the scandal.

Over the past week, Tinseltown has been roiled by an array of reactions to the Harvey Weinstein affair – everything from finger-pointing, scapegoating, excuse-making and occasional serious introspection. But one elephant in the room bears mentioning, before Mel Gibson and his ilk get too excited.

Harvey Weinstein’s mug is literally the poster face of every anti-Semite’s favorite Jew.  Fat, ugly, and unkempt. Not to mention greed, narcissism and gross over-indulgence written all over it. Hollywood makeup artists couldn’t have done it any better.

Also going on right now: the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah – a celebration of the Jewish gift to the world known as the Torah, the five books of Moses, a moral code for eternity.

What else happened this week?   Another five Jews – from 0.2 percent of the world’s population – either alone or in collaboration won Nobel prizes.  Michael Rosbash for medicine. Barry Barish and Rainer Weiss for physics, and Richard Thaler for economics. The count for Jews is about 22 percent of all the Nobel Prizes ever awarded.

Also going on right now:  the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah – a celebration of the Jewish gift to the world known as the Torah, the five books of Moses, a moral code for eternity.

The fact is that Harvey Weinstein embarrasses Jews.  He’s also an embarrassment for men, for Democrats, for Hollywood, for his family, for his business – and for humankind.

There are important lessons to be learned from his success in our world.  Some of it sounds clichéd, though nevertheless true. The spectacle of taking advantage of the weak, the naïve, the hungry, the passionate, and the dreamers – in many occupations. The conspiracy of silence – that makes accomplices of a much wider circle. The corruption of power and the duty – shirked in this case – by others to check it.

The outrage is magnified not only by the sheer hypocrisy of the man himself, but also by the human rights mantra of his friends and associates, and the microphones they had uniquely at their disposal all these years.

A sick predator has finally been exposed, far too late, for far too many victims.

The human race should do better and can do better.  Thankfully, in many cases, it does do better. But a long way from good enough.