Michael Steinhardt, art thief, sexual predator (allegedly!), still reigns king. Why? Ah, because he's a donor.

Donors are the most protected species in the Jewish community. No matter how egregious their sins, they are the most likely to retain high-profile support. Isn't it time for that to change?

A non-profit I was working for got lucky: a multi-million dollar donation came in for the capital campaign from an emerging (read, as yet unknown) donor. His multi-year commitment was generous and without major conditions, the donor — we’ll call him Boris — was easygoing and pleasant to be around, and the gift ensured that the major plans for the building would, in fact, eventuate. He didn’t even want his name on the building! Such modesty…. All we had to do was look away about one little fact: Boris The Great Philanthropist was wanted for murder.

As rumor and Google would have it, Boris made his millions as “head of security” for a well-known and very terrible man in the Former Soviet Union. Apparently “head of security” means removing people who were perceived as threats, in whatever way necessary. In this case it was poison, although the arrest warrant alludes to the possibility of other means of elimination in other possible crimes.

Never mind! What’s a little poison among friends? Luckily the man is Jewish, so he was able to escape to Brighton Beach or Israel and find safe cushioning in the arms of his tribe.

But just in case he wanted to make sure his brothers would protect him, he engaged in a strategy I affectionately call: Reputation laundering. How does one go about reputation laundering? By giving donations. Lots and lots of donations. Big ones. And also sitting on boards, heading a Board of Governors here and there, hosting a fundraiser. Let it be known to all who are listening that you are a Big Donor. Maybe even a Philanthropist. Once the word “philanthropist” gets attached to your name, nobody will ever touch you. Voila! From Wanted Murderer to King for the price of — what? — a building, an educational program, a teen trip to Israel. Reputation laundering. Everyone wins!

Don’t believe me?

Take Michael Steinhardt, for example.

The massive New York Times investigation into decades of sexual abuse that ran with the headline, “Leader in Jewish philanthropy”, included testimonies of dozens of people, and in one case there was a room full of over 200 witnesses to his exploits. And yet, the article went nowhere. There is not a single Jewish organization that has publicly expressed disgust or outrage about this, or cut ties with him.

Why? Because he is a donor. Donors are untouchable.

In fact, when one Jewish activist dared call Steinhardt out about his public treatment of a woman on senior staff, nothing happened to Steinhardt, but the whistleblower was shunned and threatened. People called her for weeks afterwards complaining about that terrible thing she did to their big donor. Some told her “You’ll never work in this community again”. Even the woman who was publicly humiliated called her up to yell. “What are you doing?! You don’t talk to Michael Steinhardt like that!”

You don’t talk back to donors. That is the cardinal rule.

Add to this yesterday’s news story that in addition to being a sexual predator (allegedly!) Steinhardt is also an art thief (do we still have to say “allegedly” if the Manhattan DA forced him to actually return $70 million in stolen artifacts?) The ethics of Steinhardt’s massive wealth is in question. Manhattan DA Cy Vance said:

For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe. His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection.

Is this the same money that Steinhardt used to fund Birthright and other organizations? Is anyone checking? Anyone? I’ll wait.