‘Bad Rabbi’ exposes seamy underbelly of early 20th century Jewish life

‘Bad Rabbi’ by Eddy Portnoy (Courtesy Stanford University Press) Thugs. Thieves. Blackmailers. Deadbeats. Murderers. These are the kinds of Jews who populate “Bad Rabbi and Other Strange But True Stories from the Yiddish Press,” a new book published this month by Stanford University Press. Contrary to what Hollywood, popular culture, and family lore would have us…