Did Jewish crime groups constitute organized crime in America?

Organized crime "remains one of the ways by which vigorous minorities bypass the traditional and orthodox routes to power" (Kelly, 1986, p10). What differentiates an organized crime group from temporary alliances among criminals is that it allows for a long-term relationship of contacts, shared interests, and hierarchy of accountability (Finckenauer & Waring, 1998, p. 11). Though legendary Jewish criminals like Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Longy Zwillman, and Moe Dalitz emerge next to the names of prominent Italian Mob Bosses throughout the history of organized crime, the question remains if they actually constitute a Mafiya, an organized crime group. This paper will attempt to answer that very question: do the Jewish crime groups qualify as organized crime?

The first issue that arises when discussing Jewish Organized Crime is the definition of organized crime itself. As Thornsten Sellin, a prominent criminologist, once commented, "the difficulty in defining organized crime is not the crime part, but the organized part" (Finckenauer & Waring, 1998, p. 10). There are multiple elements this paper will use to determine whether the Jewish Mafia is indeed an organized crime syndicate: it has no political motives; it is hierarchical; it has an exclusive membership; it constitutes a unique subculture; it is governed by strict rules and regulations; it perpetuates itself; it is monopolistic; and it exhibits a willingness to use illegal violence.

1. Is it Free of a Political Agenda?

The first point of interest in whether or not the Jewish Underground Crime World qualifies, as organized crime is the question of its political agenda. There is certainly evidence that Jewish crime leaders were self-serving. There are recorded instances when Jewish criminals turned on fellow Jews for profit: "Jewish gangsters liked to portray themselves as honorable knights defending their co-religionists against anti-Semitic thugs, they were just as likely to live as predators upon their fellow Jews (Jewish Crime, 2009, Chapter 9). Overwhelmingly, however, there appears to be a strong political motivation behind the criminals' actions.

There are numerous instances of criminals working in conjunction with the civilian Jewish population. In the article "Jewish Crime," the author notes, "between both the Jewish Criminal underworld and respectable Jewry, there were especially strong feelings of solidarity against anti-Semitism (Jewish Crime, 2009, Chapter 9). Civilian Jews hired these criminals to counter anti-Semitic sentiments. After a particularly gruesome show of Jewish solidarity, Meyer Lansky commented, "anybody who says anything against the Jews gets the same treatment" (Jewish Gangsters, 2010). It is not just their affiliation with the civilian population, but the criminals' overwhelming promotion and protection of Judaism against threats of prejudice that suggest an underlying political motive to many of their actions as criminals.

This relationship extended outside the boundaries of America. Gangsters, such as Meyer Lansky, helped in the formation of the Jewish state of Israel after World War II (Jewish Gangsters, 2010). Yehuda Arazi, an arms purchaser for the Haganah organization, even made contacts with the Jewish-based Murder, Inc. gang, looking for help (Jewish Tribal Review, 2009, Chapter 9) in acquiring guns.

3. Exclusivity of its Membership

Here again the definition of an organized crime group seems to fail in the Jewish underworld. The group's internal language being based on Yiddish (Lewis, 2007, p xi) seems to limit membership to Jews. However, many elements in the history of Jewish crime suggest a much more open policy; there seems to be few qualms in association with criminals of other sects. The greatest example of this lack of solidarity is in the formation of Murder Inc.

Jewish mobster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter was chosen by the Italians to be the boss of Murder Inc. The organization was a way for the Italian mob families to "insulate the organized crime bosses from any connection to specific mob-related murders" (75).

His working in direct correlation with -- in fact for -- members of the Italian underworld, suggests an ideology within the Jewish crime world that it need not be limited to Jews alone.

4 & 5. Defined Sub-Culture & Distinct Rules and Regulations

Both these conditions of organized crime apply to the Jewish underworld. The crime groups do have a distinctive set of rules and regulations that they adhere to and they have an "enormously complex, richly endowed culture of vice and criminality" (Jewish Crime, 2010). Michael LaSorta comments that the Jewish criminals tend to "administer their own form of justice based on a code of conduct and have their own tribunals" (LaSorta, 2007). The internal code and system of regulation both point to the uniqueness and self-sustaining nature of Jewish criminal world.

This culture in many ways mirrors the nature of Jewish society at large. Gerald Krefetz notes that "Jewish crime has followed the traditions of the Jewish people: it is verbal, intellectual, quasi-legal, and non-violent" (1982, p.114). Though, as the next section will demonstrate, Krefetz' idea of the Jewish mob's being non-violent is woefully imprecise, his other comments suggest a unique form of criminal culture: A Jewish version.

6. Willingness to Be Violent

In this category, the Jewish criminal underground certainly qualifies. Like other organized crime families, the Jewish mob is ready to retaliate with violence. It however, as many have commented, shows an extreme propensity for it: they "will kill the enemy, his wife, his children" (LaSorta, 2007).

The Jewish criminals go beyond the kinds of retribution deemed necessary and appropriate by other crime families. They exaggerate the. Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, the famous boss of Murder Inc., is purported to have "burnt people with gasoline, buried in quicklime, shot, stabbed, [ . . .] and garroted" his victims (Jewish Crime, 2010).

7. Monopoly

Just like legal businesses, illegal organizations use monopolies to maximize profits. In their business dealings, the Jewish crime bosses resorted occasionally to violence to maintain their exclusive control: "Criminal organizations monopolize markets through the threat and use of force and violence" (Finkenauer & Waring, 1998, p.16). Lepke is said to have reacted with violence to business associates who failed to comply; "owners who tried to resist the Lepke mob would have their business establishments destroyed" (Kavieff, 2006, p.46).

Uniquely, many bosses of the Jewish crime world achieved success in legitimate and cunning business dealings rather than brute intimidation. William Kleinknecht attributes their success to their "superior business sense" (1996, p. 45). They weren't, however, adverse to using violence when it came to maintaining control. Mickey Cohen, the famous Hollywood gangster, claims that he "killed no man in the first place that didn't deserve killing" by going against [his] way of life" (Lewis, 2007, p. ix).

8. Perpetuates itself

Just like any group, the Jewish underground can only insure its continuation through recruiting new members. One of the major responsibilities of members of the Jewish Russian mob is "to recruit young talent and teach them the criminal craft" (Finkenauer & Waring, 1998, p. 107). As the criminal groups are generally prominent in neighborhoods of economic hardship, the organizations use the disparity between struggling families and the gangs supposed easily earned money as a lure for new recruits. After losing his paper route, the young Lepke "made no intensive effort to find employment, preferring instead to secure his money by joining his companions in their exploits as purse snatchers and packages thieves" (Kavieff, 2006, p.7). Lepke saw the easy money his friends were making, he wanted to "join them"; his exposure to their culture lead him to become a part of it.

Jewish crime organization as a whole fails to live up to the elements that define organized crime. It certainly is violent, it recruits members, it uses monopolies to retain power, and it is a functional and individual culture. It's firm and unrelenting connection to Israel and Jewish rights, however, raises questions as to whether it is a crime syndicate. Its grounding in the promotion of Jewish rights likens it more to the terrorist groups of today than with the Sicilian mob of the 40s. It uses criminal means to support a national and religious ideology. Either Jewish groups shouldn't be labeled Organized Crime or the definition of that term should be re-examined.