NEW YORK — In the world according to the comedy writers at “Saturday Night Live,” the pyramid of complicity in the current financial crisis runs like this: On the bottom are poor and minority homeowners victimized by predatory lending. Next come condo-flipping yuppies out for a quick buck.

They’re followed by rapacious bankers who cashed out before the economy crumbled.

And on top are billionaire financiers who pocketed the government bailout and quickly moved it offshore.

In the SNL imagination, the top two categories seemingly are populated by Jews.

In a skit broadcast last Saturday night, barely a day after Congress authorized a massive bailout of the ailing financial industry, the jokesters at SNL conjured a post-vote news conference in Washington featuring these four categories of characters.

The last few weeks in the financial markets have mirrored the Jewish calendar in that they, too, could clearly be referred to as “the Days of Awe.”  During this time of great chaos and uncertainty, people across our community and around the world are feeling out of control.

To respond to our community’s needs during this time, the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, together with our agency partners across the local community and overseas, is spearheading a number of important initiatives designed to help those who have been particularly affected by the current economic downturn.

Here is a partial list of what we’re working on:

1. Meeting of local agency executives and rabbis —On Friday, Oct. 17, the Federation is convening a meeting of local agency executives and rabbis to ascertain the needs of our community in order to best determine how we can work together to meet those needs.