kosher nostra

Proper noun capitalized: Kosher Nostra

the Kosher Nostra

1. (dated, historical, informal) A nickname for Jewish-American organized crime.
   • The rise of the kosher nostra began at the turn of the century when the brutish Monk Eastman (Jacob Osterman) ended the reign of the Irish gangs in the Five Point area of the old East Side.1970 June 22, Gus Tyler, “Book of the Week: The Kosher Nostra”, in New York Magazine, volume 3, number 25, New York, N.Y.: George A. Hirsch, →ISSN, page 50
   • Kosher Nostra boss, Meyer Lansky, now domiciled in Israel, will not be extradited to the U.S.1972 March 15, Washington Observer Newsletter, number 135, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   Jewish mafia, Jewish mob, Kosher Mafia

2. (dated, derogatory, figuratively, humorous, informal, sometimes) A nickname for various groups of Jewish people.
   • "and that's when people began speaking of us as the Jewish Mafia, the Kosher Nostra and things like that[…]"1981 winter, Herbert Kupferberg, quoting Itzhak Perlman, Present Tense, volume 8, number 2, New York, NY: American Jewish Committee, →OCLC, page 37
   • ‘[…]brigade’ of rich, mostly Jewish entrepreneurs such as Charles Saatchi and Gerald Ratner who are jocularly referred to as the Kosher Nostra.1992, Mihir Bose, Michael Grade: Screening the Image, London: Virgin Books, →ISBN, page 254