Mr. Stephens brave and brilliant piece is most stimulating. As a gentile, it fits my experience of Jews and Judaica to a "T", and increases my understanding.
Thank you.
In particular, during my unexpected first career as a classical musician I encountered this genius on many occasions. It magnified my life forever in the form of shared moments of transformative beauty and in the abiding relationships that were forged from the intimacy that is required to do music well.
If any element of Jewish brilliance has been forged from not being able to feel safe in country after country, millennia after millennia; I affectionately wish a slightly less brilliant future and rejoice in the sense of home that comes from the modern State of Israel.
And, in my view, the existence of State of Israel also presents the most fearsome challenge to, and greatest opportunity for Jewish genius:
In a place where it is so easy to show that there are not willing and competent partners for peace, can the Jewish Diaspora and Israel together do something other than the traditional model of a country "winning". Something that, yes, provides security, but that also makes "the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful" as opposed to "settlements", walls, and a generation of destitute Palestinian children.
1308
@Mark Keller Thanks Mark, very well said.
71
@Mark Keller I have to kind of admire your letter, because of what I judged "lavish praise" I was waiting until the last sentence to see if there is a kind of summation/ or O Henry ending. I am guessing that your letter will soothe the more conservative "Jews are unique" readers and make them pause when they get to the last sentence....Oh well It makes for interesting reading, thanks.
39
@Mark Keller
Wars have consequences. Perhaps the Arabs identifying as Palestinian should have considered that prospect before waging over 70 years of war and terrorism...still ongoing... in their efforts to destroy Israel.
178
Thank you, Mr. Stephens, for your thoughtful words. Just by happenstance, I spent this evening at dinner with my Jewish wife of nearly 40 years and her extended family. From the eldest elder (age 94) to the newest toddler, each attendee knew--and cherished--the value of family. In my younger years, I resented the devotion my wife showed her family, often to the point of stirring jealousy in me. But now that I have kids of my own, it all makes sense. In addition to the outsized contributions to society detailed by Mr. Stephens (my wife and her siblings are all accomplished professionals), Jews seem to understand well that strength, indeed often survival, depends on fierce and unyielding defense of family, faith and tradition.
921
@Terry Thomas Thanks for more stereotyping. We didn't get enough from Mr. Stephens.
329
@Terry Thomas
You just described my Irish family. Just in case you or the author of this article did not know Judaism is a religion. The other side of my family is Jewish and are in total disarray.
276
@michjas Recognizing positive traits in the ones you love does not, in my book, constitute stereotyping.
183
"What’s not secret about Jewish genius is that it’s a terribly fragile flower."
No, it's not, otherwise this column would/could not have been written.
To borrow from a friend's description of several Jewish holidays: "They tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat."
It does seem that anti-Semitism is part of the woof and warp of Western/Near Eastern Civilization, but they can't get us all.
Bon appétit...
1407
@HapinOregon
Hap,
The seven-year program of reading the whole of Talmud, at the rate of one double-sided Hebrew-Aramaic page per day, starts over again next week, on Sunday the 5th.
I plan to follow the now traditional order. Up to now, I've only dropped in on half-a-dozen volumes under a different study schedule. I can report that there seems to be a crib like your "They failed, let's eat" gloss.
It goes "Somebody had a problem, and so-and-so proposed a solution. Somebody else said That's all very well, but we could look at it differently. Other people had other views, so they discussed it."
The discussion typically runs a few hundred pages, but if you're in a hurry, if your camel really did just knock over somebody's candle, you can always ask somebody you trust.
IQ and any other measure can vary by culture -- but this "let's examine the problem" approach is the most effective way of carrying out anything. Anything at all. Anywhere.
242
@HapinOregon
Feel free to characterize Western Civilization as anti-Semitic, starting with the Romans. But I, a so-called "Near Easterner," have a much more positive assessment of the history of Jews in the Near East. This is especially so after the first destruction of the Temple.
Mohammed considered himself a reformist Jewish prophet, and so had Muslims pray towards Jerusalem for the first two years of his mission. Maimonides was respected by his fellow Muslim colleagues. Inquisition Jews were given safe refuge in Muslim lands. Under the late Ottomans, Jews and Christians had better privileges than some Muslim minorities. Arabs refer to Jews as "the cousins," whatever that's worth in the era of political Zionism.
At no time during Jewish existence (before political Zionism) in the Near East did they suffer atrocities anywhere near the scale of what they endured under the Romans, the Spaniards, or the Russians.
Yet, the Jewish calling to mend the world goes out the window vis-a-vis Palestinian rights. From this Near Eastern's perspective, itbseems that all who wielded extreme violence against Jews achieved what they wanted in the long term: reduced Jewish populations and influence. The Arabs, who were relatively more tolerant of Jews, ended up with a colonial settler Zionist anatgonizer state. Go figure.
172
Why would you publish this? By singling out one ethnicity the author is implying that other ethnicities are somehow inferior in intelligence. When did IQ tests become culturally neutral? Are they suddenly the gold standard by which all intelligence is rated? Could there not be cultural and socio-economic differences that might affect IQ scores? Surely a child raised in a trailer park in an unstable household might not test as well as privately educated upper-middle class student. Although Stephens thinks he's praising Jewish people with this piece he's actually adding more fuel to the fire of resentment towards them. Anti-semitism is on the rise in the US and across the world. The Jewish community does not need articles like this which will just be used against them. There are brilliant individuals in every ethnic group on this planet. Can we just stop trying to link intelligence to ethnicity across the board? What good does it do to reinforce sad stereotypes? Absolutely nothing.
993
Why would Jewish Genius cause wonder given the depth of reading tradition has taught them?
Walter Benjamin wrote to Gershom Scholem that it was impossible for him engage in any intellectual endeavor with anything other than a theological cast of mind! Thus he did so “in accord with the Talmudic teaching about the forty-nine levels of meaning in ever passage of Torah.”
Harold Bloom said he read Shakespeare as Kabbalist read the Bible “interpreting every absence as being significant.”
So!!!
37
OK, Bret, what's your point? What do you want me to do with this information?
225
Oy. Was an odd but interesting oped until the bit about anti-Zionism equaling anti-semitism. They are not the same and there is nothing wrong with criticizing any apartheid state regardless of the religion of those involved.
573
"Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews. " Once again, criticism of Israel is equated with antisemitism (somewhat ironic, since Palestinians are also Semites). And from this tactic, political correctness has expanded the concept and disagreement equals bigotry in other contexts.
305
Of all the absurd, under-cogitated ideas being smeared across this op-Ed, it is the concept of exceptionalism itself—so dear to the hearts of conservatives like Stephens—that is most anathema to so-called “Jewish” thought. As a Jew, I was taught early on that, more often than not, claims about relative merit are a morally convenient and transparently exculpatory means of explaining away existing inequities. The Bretts of this world are always looking for winners, so they can declare: “see?!they deserve what they have!” If there’s any Jewish genius at all—and I suspect this genius exists in most cultures, with the possible exception of the kind of blindered Western- civilizational hubris lately trending on the American right—it is to reject this sort of unsubtle, unimaginative, taxonomic, and frankly dull thinking, and to realize that the point of being a Jew is not to hoard what we’ve achieved as some sort of culturo-genetic birthright, but to celebrate the truth that genius exists in all forms everywhere; that true genius requires only that you see this.
700
With all due respect, nothing "has taken the place of anti-Semitism". it is alive and unwell in America.
Sometimes people claim, as Stephens seems to do, that anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are the same thing. That must be true for some people but arguments against mistreating Palestinians do not make one anti-Jewish.
395
“There is a moral belief, “incarnate in the Jewish people” according to Einstein, that “the life of the individual only has value [insofar] as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful.”
Tell this to the Republican Jewish Coalition that supports Trump and even laughed when he mocked refugees when he spoke at their convention.
281
I am Jewish. I wonder why there is a dis-proportionally large number of great Jewish comedians.
85
Can you explain why Jews are so drawn to Buddhism and eastern philosophy! If you look up and down the list of western Buddhist teachers they are dominated by jews. Even the recently departed mystic Baba Ram Dass formerly known as Rupert Alpert came from a Jewish family. Beloved Leonard Cohen too became a Zen Buddhist. The list is long and rich. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Buddhist
61
I've thought a lot about being Jewish, and I conclude that as historical outsiders, we're hardwired to swim against the current. If, historically, you can't own land or join society in its usual pursuits, you get to thinking instead. Jews are thinkers.
95
I’m an Ashkenazi Jew, and this article made me cringe. Saying that Jews as a group are more intelligent than others is one step away from saying that Jews are cunning, which leads to some of the most pernicious stereotypes of Jews.
659
this is a very interesting article that i must read again and carefully. it harps back to an old lesson i learned from a college professor via his read of edward said (who broke the western orientali angle). there was a certain word he used that bogs my mind to remember properly, but the point is that one must be careful race comparison. i could easily highlight the genius of black creatively which in my opinion has influenced and moved the world toward heights of humanity expression. and i do this as a natural ordinary thing. notice how rap had taken over youth expression all over, and such. i bet one could isolate the geniuses of every 'race', like there's a certain special vision some thought leaders from india have that is undoubtedly surreal and great and who would deny the greatness of bach beethoven brahms? yet, we have this need, don't we? was there a greater pianist composer than polish chopin? funny, english composers i don't think have ever reached this height no, yet, what about newton? yet irish folk is just purely sterling. hmm... what's the reason for this article. i must read again carefully.
285
@darius molark
Yes. You best carefully reread it.
20
Very true! It is the infinite diversity—multitude of sources for genius and creativity that resides in all of us — that is the miracle. What is considered genius today, might easily become ordinary tomorrow (or 10, 100 years from now), if we progress on a steady trajectory of cultural and scientific evolution.
20
@TK, if we really progressed on a steady trajectory of cultural and scientific evolution, the reactionary Trump would not be president.
45
My mother, the most brilliant person I know often asked the question asked by the author: “Why are the Jews so brilliant?”
Her take is biblical: the Jews argue with God and sometimes win! Moses, for example, after the incident with the golden calf, successfully convinced God to spare some of the Israelites.
Mom would say that if we can argue with God and win, then why can’t I disagree with you and convince you I’m right!
56
Most of my Jewish friends are really intelligent but what strikes me is their basic decency and open mindedness, and oh do they ever love to argue.
95
I, too, have observed that the Jewish people in general are smarter and more intelligent than the rest of us non-Jewish people. Maybe that's why they consider themselves chosen ones. That certainly doesn't bother me, I'm even happy for them and us as a species, as long as nobody keeps reminding me about it.
42
Added to my comment on the stereotype of Jews as tough, hardy and pugalistic (a self-fulfilling prophecy), I offer this article on British Jews:
https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/2019/08/13/boxing-as-a-jewish-sport/
4
Norman Lebrecht takes some pride in being a Jew. The Jewishness that matters to him has nothing to do with biological inheritance, and he knows there’s no such thing as Jewish DNA. Nor is it about religious piety - most of his favourite Jews are non-believers. Jewishness, as Lebrecht sees it, is essentially a matter of culture, especially high culture, and his book “Genius and Anxiety” is rather hyperpolic, aimed to show how Jewish talent has “remade the world” in the past two centuries.
Today Bret Stephens has to search hard for “the breakthrough Jews” like Felix Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Benjamin Disraeli, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Franz Kafka and so on.
With the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, the world is seeing more of people like Benjamin Netanyahu and other hawks. Jared Kushner hardly fits into the category of Jewish “genius” Stephens depicts.
My favourite artists of Jewish descent were Ephraim Kishon, Maya Plisetskaya and a couple of pianists and violinists.
31
I can’t decide whether or not you’re helping your cause in this piece. If this was just very poorly written possibly? Who was the intended audience?
Honestly I’m tired of hearing about Jewish exceptionalism. I’ve studied the Holocaust and pogroms in Europe enough - short of being a scholar. But I feel today Judaism (in the Western world) can do much more to bring people in and make family of the communities in which they live, especially many being so privileged.
So many other people are suffering immense atrocities today that fragment family and culture - erasing any chance at prosperity or intellectual achievement for many... That you boast.
58
This discussion reeks of hubris. Jewish exceptionalism embodied in the phrase, “the chosen people”, has probably been one of the causes of the troubled history of this group, and highlighting it in this manner is not likely to be helpful.
125
What a strange, needless column. It only feeds and reinforces the unfortunate tendency, always exploited by the malicious, to view the world in racial terms. And to what purpose? The only reason I see for Mr. Stephens' column is so that he can include this sentence: "Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews." What's worse, the sentence isn't even true. I realize this is an opinion column, but it's a reckless opinion to publish, all the same.
369
In the most important sense, a person's religion is not determined by the religion that a person observes or chooses to identify himself as. More important for the welfare of that individual is the religion that others consider that person to be.
In Europe during the 1930's and until 1945, it did not matter much whether you considered yourself Jewish or not, it did not matter much whether you were born to or raised by Jewish parents or not. What mattered most was whether other people, especially the Nazis, thought you were Jewish.
The same is true for other religions, too. In 1690's Salem, it did not matter much whether a person thought they were a witch (or whether they really were a witch). What mattered most was whether the other townspeople thought the person was a witch.
30
"Give the ball to each side, and they will have nothing to fight over."
Brett,
Maybe this old rabbi's logic could be applied to the middle east. Have you ever considered that if both sides had a ball - that is, their own state - Jews and Palestinians would have nothing to fight over?
196
the superior capabilitys of Jews, it is to regard the pre 1933 Era in Germany. This era was an educational melting pot from children above 6, and a matched situation in colleges and universities to be observed. It gives evidence for the dominant importance of jewish mothers in setting in early live the groundwork for the florishing intellects of their children.
5
I am a Jewish man in my 60s, and, as a child, don’t remember any great intellectual role model among most of my relatives or their friends, despite a lot of similar talk and backslapping. But it takes no Einstein to see that this column is a great waste of time and space: When Trump pitches to a group of conservative Jewish real estate moguls the economic reasons they must support him, while he hits them with all the clichés and stereotypes of the greedy Jew, tells him he doesn't even like most of them, and they applaud, don’t forget the acts (or axes) that follow. The next generation of these politics will tell the Jews they were only protected, and they made money, too. But that’s over, and they can go to Israel. That’s what it’s there for. We’re only as safe from White Nationalism as other groups are. Better stop the slapping each other on the back and look over your shoulders.
146
This is a very strange article. Perhaps, instead of claiming Jews are smarter than others, the focus should be on the Jewish culture of emphasizing education. If they had had a great education, how many African-American Noble Prize winners would there have been? Personally, I believe women are smarter than men but testosterone has pushed many talented women aside. If the author’s thesis was correct, he would have been discussing Jewish female geniuses as well as Jewish male geniuses. What the author is really pointing out is that, given a supportive environment, the human mind flourishes. As the old ad used to say, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”.
127
I was raised Presbyterian, but have always loved Judaism and Jews. I didn't have to think about it--just instinctual over the years -- friends, girlfriends, revered leaders in all walks of life. Why is that? Not because I think they are smarter then everybody else. But rather because of their inexplicable sustained joie de vivre and faith in life as basically rewarding and always containing something to be celebrated. True, I can't fit Netanyahu & his posse into my cultural embrace, but I'm going to let that go and keep my affinity.
51
All the data (e.g., Nobel Prize winners, Forbes 400 members, IQ scores, and sociological studies) suggests that Ashkenazi Jews are, per capita, the smartest, richest, most articulate, and most influential ethnic group in the world. For example, in their 1995 book "Jews and the New American Scene," the prominent social scientist Seymour Martin Lipset, a Senior Scholar of the Wilstein Institute for Jewish Policy Studies, and Earl Raab, Director of the Perlmutter Institute for Jewish Advocacy at Brandeis University, found of American Jews, who made up about 3% of the population at the time:
“During the last three decades, Jews have made up 50% of the top two hundred intellectuals, 40 percent of American Nobel Prize Winners in science and economics, 20 percent of professors at the leading universities, 21 percent of high level civil servants, 40 percent of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington, 26% of the reporters, editors, and executives of the major print and broadcast media, 59 percent of the directors, writers, and producers of the fifty top-grossing motion pictures from 1965 to 1982, and 58 percent of directors, writers, and producers in two or more primetime television series.” [pp. 26-27]
It is difficult to understand how the world works without grasping these facts.
63
Well now Mr. Stevens it's high time you accepted that the smartest (and most compassionate) person running for President is Jewish.
No, it is not Bloomberg.
88
If you actually read the referenced 2005 paper on the measured higher IQ of ashkenazi jews you will see that it describes having skill with numbers as part of an inherited suite of traits unique to the AJ population that includes some pretty awful diseases such as tay-Sachs, Gaucher’s and others. It argues for nature, not nurture, as this particular collection of positive and negative traits are not shared with other Jewish populations. Then it speculates that the tradition of trading and money lending somewhat unique to this group, along with limited gene flow with neighboring populations created a situation where the more successful money handlers (presumably better with numbers) simply by having more children than the less successful would concentrate the genetic defects over many generations that result today in observable success and hidden illness. If one were religious it would be hard to tell if the AJ were being punished or rewarded by some higher power but if you rely on science you might see this just as one of the many curious accidents of evolution that surrounds us.
32
I have read comments that Stephens is wrong and that anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism. The people who have made these comments would be correct except for the fact that Israel is not treated the same way as all other countries.
Resolutions condemning Israel for Human Rights violations comprised almost half (45.9%) of all country-specific resolutions passed by the United Nations. I challenge anyone to come up with facts that justify this. 500,000 Syrians have been killed by the Syrian government in the recent conflict, up to 1.5 million Uighurs are in "re-education camps" in China, more than 5,400,000 have been killed in violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past 20 years, 383,000 killed in Sudan.... The list goes on and on with millions and millions of deaths. 290 Palestinians died in violence in 2018. Why are these 290 people so much more valuable that the millions of people killed by other countries? The only answer is that Israel, the only Jewish state in the world, is held to different standards than every other country and that is anti-Semitism.
122
I would be careful about any assigning intellectual accomplishments to anything racial. The religious requirements for reading sacred texts (at least for boys) gave Jews far more literacy in pre-WWl Europe than any other group, and I think that one sees the effects of this even generations later. I also think that the science prizes are for an older generation and as Jews have become more acculturated they will probably become less conspicuous in science, not unlike what I think will happen with the ethnic asian communities who currently dominate the formerly heavily Jewish Stuyvesant High School.
BTW, I can hardly think of worse metric of intelligence than an IQ test.
53
The US should have taken in every Jewish person who needed refuge beginning with the Russian pogroms, through the Nazi atrocities. We turned too many away. It was a terrible mistake.
The US would have benefited immeasurably from their contributions.
We can't take in everyone, but the xenophobia, racism and plain mean-spiritedness flaring in the country today, fueled by a true Know Nothing political party and cult of personality, is dragging us down precisely at the time the world needs principled American leadership.
I am putting my faith in the young people today, because there is nothing left to depend on but faith. My own generation has brought our country low and deserves to be swept into the dustbin of history. It can't happen too soon.
30
It is dangerous and usually wrong to believe in different intelligence levels in different groups. The admiration of one group cannot be separated from the denigration of another.
The notion of the special Jew has plagued the Christian world's relationships with Jews for the past two thousand years. The smart Jew, the rich Jew--these had their value to those in power, but the majority of ordinary Jews, average people, were never part of the political and social fabric wherever they lived. The admiration of the smart Jew is the flip side of antisemitism, and those who carry out antisemitic acts don't care how smart their victims are, not in historical eras and not now.
84
"Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews."
This statement lacks elementary logic.
Zionism does not equal Judaism.
145
As a Jew of Ashenazi descent myself, I’ve never bought into the concept that we’re inherently smarter.
I do think that overall we place a higher value on education and learning, very much like some Asian cultures.
In my family, as in most Jewish-American families, you were expected to do your best. There was no alternative, and it was a great schande if you didn’t reach some form of achievement.
Unfortunately, that has caused backlash too. Jews are often smeared as “too smart” or “too cunning” or “too successful,” leading to more hatred of us.
Israelis have turned from an agricultural society to a high-tech/science/medical powerhouse. And that has created backlash too.
You just can’t win.
74
Jews have a culture of valuing education, expecting high intellectual achievement using their own scriptures as well as in wordly subjects.The culture has remained virtually intact for thousands of years exdespite the many barbarities committed against it. I've never met a Jew who did not expect their newborn to graduate college at the least, and baby gifts are often given as savings bonds meant for college accounts. These inherent expectations must influence their children to aim high with their education, so we see many science and medical professionals are disproportionately Jewish. It's no wonder that IQ's are higher with such deep and sustained support for learning passed down through the ages.
57
Oh please.
I suggest that folks just google the word "racism" and see if this article by Bret fits.
Sure seems to me to fit making the point that a group of people share a common characteristic and that other people, another race, don't.
Hugh
88
Conflating anti-Semitism with a general discomfort with Israeli border policies is dangerous. When it is claimed that all Jewish people are representatives of the state of Israel and that the state of Israel represents Jews all over, then any questionable behavior by the Israel government is extrapolated to the Jewish people who may have little, or nothing, to do with Israel.
86
I am catholic educated in a very conservative religious way. I discovered the incredible difference with jewish religion when I attended the barmitzva of my grandson (one of my children married a jew). The whole ceremony was just intelligent. I'm an atheist because catholicism was to me just stupid in the way it managed people's life. I think that the relation to God is an important factor of the success of jews in science, music, litterature, philiosophy, etc.
43
This is a dangerous essay that promotes racist and discredited theories. Normally I appreciate a free exchange of ideas. But the idea that one can identify some group of the population using social constructs, calculate some kind of cognitive average ability for that group, and then draw meaningful inferences, is kind of ridiculous. I actually find this editorial quite anti Semitic in its potential effect if not its purpose. Btw I’m Jewish and definitely no genius.
192
Jewish kids I knew studied harder because their parents expected it of them. They were the smart kids.
Thank god for the Marx Bros otherwise I'd have no philosophic foundation.
50
What the author doesn't seem to grasp is that "Jewish smarts" is one of the most lethal antisemitic tropes, especially popular among white nationalists and, historically among Russian, Muslim and French populations. Creativity is a more verifiable cultural trait, probably made necessary for survival in hostile environments and encouraged by a tradition of text interpretation.
71
I am not a Jew, but in my long life experience, I find that they work harder. Why is the subject of many, many books. Don't make it more complicated than it is. Oh, opposing ultra-rightwing Zionism has nothing to do with anti-Semtism.
45
Anti-zionism is not necessarily anti-semitism. It may instead be following the advice of your Lithuainian rabbi and saying
"Give one ball to each side, and they will have nothing to fight over."
47
By emphasising "Askenazi" the author is avoiding the Jewish population in general and picking a select group within it.
Are the Sephardic not as smart?
If so, there is a factor at play other than Jewish heritage.
37
John Steinbeck (indirectly) pointed out a good answer to why the Jews are so productive in his book East of Eden. According to Steinbeck, God speaks to Cain (in the Catholic version of the Bible), and says;"If sin lieth at the door, DO THOU triumph over him." A command: obey! Very Catholic! The Protestant version changes the verb to THOU SHALT...a promise. In both versions, Man is not responsible - he obeys what he is told, or in the Protestant version things happen without him having to do anything. The original - Jewish - version states: THOU MAYEST! Making the individual CHOOSE... and be responsible completely for the outcome. As the article mentions, Jews are allowed to question everything. In the Yeshivas, it is their duty to question. The Jewish prophets even questioned God and sometimes told him he was wrong - and God even sometimes listened! When one is brought up to question - the result is creativity! And a love of and a respect for learning are paramount. The Jews were literate perhaps a century or more before the average European. Put a love of learning and the right to question everything together - and that explains a lot of why the Jews are often so brilliant.
49
Many others have said it and said it well, but I will add to the critical comments here. It astonishes me how people who decry bigotry in our society, and Stephens writes about anti-Semitism in these pages quite a lot, can be so blind to the things they do to contribute to the problem. Let's imagine that, in addition to the cited list of (singled out Ashkenazi) Jewish achievements, we added "They represent 1/4 of the 400 richest Americans with 100 billionaires, while Jews as a group represent only 2% of the population." If we added that line, which is supposedly factually true, to this list of acheivements in this column, would Stephens now qualify as an anti-Semite? Because Stephens just recently attacked Labour for anti-Semitism for its belief that it is “the over-representation of Jews in the capitalist ruling class that gives the Israel-Zionist lobby its power.” So Stephens is allowed to wax rhapsodic about how smart and successful Jews are but if Labour notes that Jews seem to have succeeded quite well in business and thus have significant power in UK society, that is bigotry? You can't have it both ways. If a "people" can be praised as a unity, they can be criticized as an entity for the same things. And deciding that you can praise the Jewish people for dominating in chess but then talking about Jewish dominance in high finance or banking is suddenly in anti-Semitic terrain is pretty much impossible to defend.
105
Let US be clear. Anti-Zionism is NOT the same as Anti-Semitism.
If the Jews are so smart, why can they not think of a way to live in justice and peace with the Palestinians?
As a African American whose history includes laws that made it illegal for my ancestors to be taught to read and write, but they found a way to learn anyway, who were discriminated against and harassed and beaten and murdered to this day in unspeakable ways that history does not want to remember, I find this essay problematic.
Let us remember that there are smart people and dumb people in every human ethnicity. The question is what do we each do with the gifts we are given to provide for the sustenance and joy of every other human being on the face of the earth?
132
Oy vey.
As a proud Jew, I find this column deeply troubling. The notion of "Jewish superiority" and "Jewish brilliance" can only fuel the hatred of Jews that we have seen time and time again. People have sought out to kill Jews for centuries because Jews appeared unfairly privileged, and powerful. Why Mr. Stephens, are you lending more fuel to that fire?
Being proud of ones culture is one thing. Celebrating the smart, good-hearted, and successful who come from your "tribe" makes sense. But making blanket statements about 'Jewish genius' in particular can only lead to bad things... Very bad things....
129
The great Bret Stephens sighs at Marx, whilst failing to realise that both Kafka and Einstein were convinced socialists...
65
The academic achievement of Jews so out of proportion to their representation in the population is easily demonstrated and documented so let's not argue about whether or not it exists. I believe it is the result of many centuries of selection for skills that could be carried between the ears as everything else was so often taken away. When you cannot own and work the land you become teachers, lawyers, physicians, scientists etc and you have skills that cannot be taken away like the farm was. Natural selection demonstrates how species are shaped by the survivor's adaptations to adversity and there should be no surprise when survivors of events like the holocaust and centuries of pograms demonstrate unique adaptive skills and motivation. Jews are not the first group to be shaped by adversity and they will not be the last. It is a story as old as history.
72
"Bracing originality" and "high-minded purpose" can be found in every population. As can less noble qualities, such as those found in certain presidential advisers. Is linking universal human traits to religious, cultural or genetic background really where the New York Times is now?
75
Great article, however I feel that the Government of Israel as led by Netanyahu deserves criticism, and as a Jew I reject that Zionism = Judaism. Otherwise, great article!
22
"One can apply a prodigious intellect in the service of prosaic things — formulating a war plan, for instance, or constructing a ship. One can also apply brilliance in the service of a mistake or a crime, like managing a planned economy or robbing a bank."
I was astounded at this paragraph, not because it's, in one sense, obvious, but because it brings up the subject of finances.
I'm not a fan of pieces like this which separate a whole group of people for analysis. Would Maureen Dowd write a column on Irish Catholics and make sweeping assessments of their intellects, reasoning capabilities, and contributions?
My other reaction is, why separate out a group that is under increasing attack in this country? Don't Jews face enough dangers without dedicating an essay to their genius?
I just hope this doesn't provide add more fuel to the fire of hate that is consuming this country.
41
The reason why the Jews are exceptionally ahead is that they are provided with an upbringing that makes them wise. It enables them to be focused on not just learning but to over-prepare, to ensure their success in knowledge fields. Most Americans, on the other hand, are brought on the belief of being the best. We end up with trophy self-images.
Upbringing is a function of the brain. Thus the Jewish Brain education is superior and just as important as regular mind education. For most of us the focus is on mind education and our brain education is missing, and the brain is even miseducated.
There is a simple reason why the Jews have more money. We earn good money with our well-educated minds and spend it with our miseducated brains. The Jews with even better-educated minds make more money and they spend not only their money and also their time with better-educated brains. Their time and money are well invested while most of us waste much of our time and money.
There is much that we have learned from the Jews it is about time we also learn from the way they have mastered brain education.
In India, there are Marwaris. They don't tell their children that they have to grow up as excellent professionals. They are told that they are the ones who will create factories and provide massive employment to others so their children willingly over-prepare. Most Marwaris are big business owners & industrialists.
The Jews are the masters of the brain and mind. We need to do the same.
13
The first time I was introduced to anti-Zionism was in a health spa the early 80's by a 80-something year-old man with a number tattooed to his arm. He kindly explained, in no un-certain terms, that all Jews are not Zionists and that anti-semitism and anti-Zionism are completely different things and that Christian Zionism is, in his opinion, only thinly veiled anti-semitism. As a Christian who was taught to respect Zionism, it was quite the education and I have never forgotten it.
74
I love this column. When I moved to NYC I didn’t anticipate, because I didn’t know any Jews before, how much I’d enjoy the presence, thinking, humor, and social-mindedness of so many Jewish friends & coworkers.
Seinfeld & so many other of the best comedies are written by Jews. I’m always rewatching Schitts Creek, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Orange Is The New Black. There seems to be a passed-down fondness for discussion, dialogue, and a particular kind of warmth from a good turn of phrase. I’m so grateful.
28
I think the greatest example of "Jewish Genius" was Admiral Hyman Rickover. Not only did he create the "Nuclear Navy", he fought internally against the Pentagon beaurocracy that he threatened. Not only did Admiral Rickover keep us from "Speaking Russian" by advancing our Navy to levels that Russia could not compete against, he did it with ZERO nuclear accidents in the US Navy to date.
Murray the Cop is a "Cafeteria Catholic" married to a Ukranian Jew, and I approve this column!
28
No wonder they hate us.
Most of the comments the NYT published in response to Bret Stephens column are negative. The commentators ignore the fact that Mr. Stephens based his comments not on his personal opinion but rather on academic studies and statistics - well, folks don't like those anymore either.
Many commentators drag the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into their comments - ignoring how incredibly complex the conflict is, based on decades of history and fueled by people who refuse to concede defeat in four wars and instead would sacrifice their children and their children's children children to a lost cause.
As a Jew living in Israel, I'd rather this article hadn't been published. We Jews will no doubt continue to contribute to the world's well-being in science, medicine, literature, arts, chess etc...because that's what we do. I'd rather it happen without getting beaten up up on the streets of New York and massacred in our synagogues. As my grandmother would have said: who needs it?
71
Personally, I always cringed when Rabbis or temple speakers called out Jewish success over Jewish values. I understand Stephens’ more nuanced points, and how “genius” is a result of the particular Jewish experience and conflagration of religious and social variables. But, I don’t know why Stephen’s didn’t use more of his IQ and ask “why” or “why not” before going public with such an article. Did he think he had an audience that would take his points at face value, and not find facts and claims of Jewish genius as obnoxious (at least) and racist (at most)? His caveats (e.g., not exclusive to Jews) just get buried under his overly “intellectual” dissertation.
44
You probably think that “genius” doesn’t apply to politics, since 80% of Jewish-Americans vote democratic.
52
Thanks for going out of your way to divide even further - Ashkenazi Jews, they’re the smart ones, not Sephardic Jews, which of course is absurd and ridiculous and intra-racist, if there is such a thing.
It reminds some of us how the Europeans went out of their way to keep Sephardic Jews down in Israeli society, who ran the show early. It is a prejudice that still exists, and what was the point of that extra label exactly? What was the point of any of this? Just more divisive pixels and print.
83
Sort of entertaining, if not terribly interesting until the next to last paragraph. Then it goes terribly south instead, with the tired Zionist nonsense about anti-Zionism equaling anti-semitism.
Mr Stephens: I am anti-Zionist. I am not anti-Semitic. And there are millions like me. Get over it.
91
Very interesting column by Brett.
But, who won the soccer match?
11
When your back it up against the wall..you can't reach the door. Thinking in the obvious manner keeps you in the room.
Jewish reasoning has had to adapt to its environment.
14
Some might consider this article as archetypical form of racist ideology. That is to say it elevates the Jewish people especially the European Jews from East Europe (the Ashkenazi) to a special, albeit in this case a positive form of racism. It is a fact that Jews in Europe especially in East Europe suffered more than anywhere else. But East Europeans especially Poles have suffered more than most. Perhaps the more pertinent correlation might have been the hardship and surviving. Perhaps some should look into non-Jewish genius from East Europeans.
13
I would replace your list with the smartest Jews I know: Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld and Sid Caesar. As Sid of blessed memory once said:
“The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius.”
38
My off-the-shoulder judgment is that it's not that Jews are smarter, but that they have a higher affinity for education - and for sarcasm.
17
So much accomplished by a small number, one can only imagine what could have been if the Holocaust had not happened.
36
I'm sixty-four, and in the course of my life I've known a fair number of geniuses (of varying magnitude), none of whom happened to be Jewish. I've also known a fair number of Jews, none of whom happened to be geniuses (most missing by quite a wide mark, in fact). This does not mean that among the population at large Jews don't average higher in intelligence, but it does suggest to me that we need to judge people as individuals, not by race. This question, however, has nothing to do with Stephens real point, which he deftly tucks away until the near end of his article. His real point is that anyone in any way critical of Netanyahu's rogue regime is criminally guilty of Wrongthink. Don't be duped.
123
Albert Einstein was never tested for IQ. There is no conclusive proof that extremely original thinkers have significantly higher IQ than their peers.
Any argument that uses IQ test and awards as the key to unraveling the secrets of the best minds mankind has produced is pathetic (surely Issac Newton wasn't smart because he didn't win Nobel Prize...)
The author makes infantile generalization of the entire Ashkenazi diaspora based on cherry picked examples. Evidently his theory doesn't explain Jared Kushner or Benjamin Netanyahu.
111
I am an Ashkenazi woman in her early seventies (with Russian roots). I do have an IQ over 150 as does my daughter. I have always been driven to do better, be better, and make each day count like my last.
I don't believe genetics is everything, but Russian Jews and Asians do have the largest brain cages. Sorry but true. However, my theory is that many Jews have higher anxiety levels. It's not just my brains that have propelled me but my anxiety when I wake up each morning that forces me to check my 401K, make sure my car is running, clean my house, and stay ahead of everyone else. I am at my law office at 6:00 am.
22
Genius is the synthesis of smarts and creativity found in abundance but not exclusively among Ashkenazi Jews. Having a population that survived the horrors of resisting assimilation of Europe to maintaining their Identity provided a Darwinian example of survival of the fittest and whose survivors created the state of Israel. We have been blessed both Jews and non Jews with their immense contribution to the overall benefit of Humanity. As a non jew I saw thank you!
10
Mr. Stephens, I regard you as an intelligent man, but I also regard this opinion of your is an epic failure.
I’m Jewish and I find it very disconcerting when someone says or writes that Jews have higher IQs or more/better intelligent genes. All humans have the same habilites. It’s the education, nutrition and encouragement at younger age that differentiates mostly. Unfortunately, in today’s world this is also tied to wealth. Sometimes it starts in the womb.
In a world where all mothers-to-be will receive exceptional prenatal care, all toddlers will receive proper high quality caregiving, no children will ever go hungry, and all schools provide great secular education and teach science free from interference from religious dogmas and beliefs, everyone will have high IQ.
Mr. Stephens, imagine this world. John Lennon and Yoko Ono already imagined. Unfortunately, it’s on a planet called Utopia.
43
It is clear from the comments below that any data of any kind that is tagged with ethnic identity should be suppressed, its study prohibited, in order to avoid upsetting anyone.
25
I am very disappointed in Bret Stephens. I usually agree with his opinions in his column.
I am Jewish by any definition. I have seen as many "stupid" Jews those who are not Jewish. I work as an engineer and have had the privilege of working with innumerable non-Jews who I could only envy for the competence and inventiveness.
I'm sure the NY Times readers could say the same for any profession.
I don't have hard data, but I believe there are strong indications that Jewish over representation in the professions of science, engineering, literature, music, finance and law - have begun to substantially decline.
I wish to repeat. I am disappointed in Mr. Stephens. He usually does better.
17
As a semi-Semite (Catholic mother, Jewish father), I can testify to this: my mother was intellectually brighter than my father, but he was far more penetrating in human matters; apart from which, he had a sense of humour she couldn’t touch. Like my mother, I’m also very bright, and like my father, a fool for believing it.
21
i have NEVER understood how Jews became the target of hate...never. I grew up not knowing any Jews, except that, oh that neighbor was Jewish, whatever that meant, my mother said it meant they went to a synagogue instead of church. then, as my circle of meeting people widened, i met Jews who amazed me, helped me, taught me, and yes, loved me. I will NEVER understand how Jews can be hated.
38
I am waiting for a corresponding article about how creative the African American community is, which, has produced such a disproportionate amount of American music, and also has produced an impressive impact on the American written and spoken word. Or how about how Asian Americans, who test so well and dominate classical music performance? Or WASPs, who disproportionately created this American experiment which so many of us benefit? Showing respect and appreciation for other groups is pluralism, and helps strengthen America. But respect and appreciation for just your own group, to the exclusion of others? That’s bigotry, and shouldn’t be published in the paper of record. As a member of both Ashkenazi and African roots, I say ‘no thanks’
79
In the European shtetl, everyone knew that whenever you drop a piece of buttered matzoh it always lands with the butter-side down. One day someone dropped a piece and it landed with the butter-side up.
Shocked, the people consulted the Rabbi for an explanation of this miracle.
"No miracle", he replied, "you simply buttered the wrong side!"
30
Critical thinking skills are no joke, they must be embraced and taught in junior high and high school... Everybody.... From a common labourer, to skilled tradesman, the small business owner, and post secondary student, need to think, question, and act accordingly.
12
Those of us who have been fortunate to have been befriended by Jewish intellectually gifted individuals have the benefit not only of their dedication to reason but often a commitment to social justice. I was recruited into a fraternity that was about one half European Jewish-American and one half Italian-American. I was the only Polish-American. They invited me in because of my grades. The Italian-Americans were equally interesting, because of their effort to do something useful with their lives. It was the beginning of an odyssey in my life as a medical scientist surrounded by brilliant Jewish friends who were dedicated to solving the mysteries of life. I got caught up in it. I like to recall that in the year 1000 there were more Jews living in Poland and its neighboring regions than any other region on earth. It was a joy ride to be with the descendants of all of those Jewish immigrants who briefly found a hospitable home in Eastern Europe and Russia. Luckily for us a lot of them made it out of there before they were all eliminated from the planet. Now the forces of bigotry are at it again. Of course, this fear of the stranger is not limited to those like the Jews who stand out, here in American we have our history of aiming our envy and hate at Africans and in the current era we have added Mexicans and other so-called Hispanics. Who are they going to go after next? Just ask POTUS.
16
To have a lever and a position such as Mr. Stephens’ and to use it to gin up a specious argument that essentially asserts the superiority of a class of people based on ethnicity is disingenuous. To what height and to what purpose does he intend to hoist his miniature sample size? To equate all criticism of Israel with racism? To cow intellectually inferior people into abject acceptance? Whatever straw man he is constructing, all he has done here is to throw a giant bale into the bonfire of self-immolation that our identity obsessed culture has become.
34
I have always admired the advancements made in the sciences and medicine brought forth by the Jewish. Wouldn't that thinking led to believing that Shockley, who won The Nobel, be correct on his views of cultures and race?
4
Having read Simon Schama’s book “The Story of the Jews”, I recall a bit of history in Amsterdam, after the Inquisition had sent Sephardic Jews fleeing for refuge and after settling into the gilded age commercial establishment. At some point, as pogroms were escalating in The Pale, waves of impoverished Ashkenazim arrived. Everyone viewed them as pretty near hopeless: stupid/ignorant, with low morales and few prospects. They were beggars and sellers of “used” (possible stolen) clothes and other goods. Everyone was disgusted by them. The City Elders wanted to stem the tide, insisting that the refugees were a threat that would drag the inhabitants down.
The Sephardic elders conferred and sent a delegation to the (gentile) City Elders: “Give them a chance!” If they are ignorant, let’s invest in their education. If they are economically desperate, let’s help them find opportunities. The rest, as they say, is history.
20
I feel like some things might be better left unsaid
14
As an Ashkenazi jew I was really enjoying this article until it came to the false libel of the line, " Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews." This false projection ignores the reality that many of us -- who question and and dissect things from a tradition of social morality -- are anti-Zionists for the same reason we are anti-nationalists. Are we smarter? I don't see that we are but, we do think differently from a cultural perspective -- or we did prior to the virulent poison of nationalism fed by a well justified ear and mistrust boosted by the holocaust.
29
This is wrong on so many fronts it is hard to know even where to begin.
52
This editorial is quite uncomfortable reading. No race or religion should be singled out as superior to any other race or religion whether true or otherwise. This is the kind of opinion which causes ill will between peoples. Evidently, this is an opinion stated in a book, and consequently should have been reviewed in The Book section of The Times and not amongst the editorials.
32
In my long career as medical scientist, more than half of the top performers and leaders were Jewish. Which confirms part of the thesis. But they did not confirm another part: A substantial proportion of them showed an astounding degree of greed and lack of scientific integrity in the pursuit of their ambition. Two of those into whose work I have deep insight were outright frauds. What counts to me is not how big your brain is but the integrity of what you do with it.
23
Being against conservative Israeli politics is not being anti-Zionist. It’s about some semblance of fairness to the Palestinians. Who knows? That might just be the road to peace.
44
In addition to his genius, Einstein as any other genus is a product of societies and education systems that brought him up. His main work was done in his 20's, decades before he had to flee in front of Nazis (America took him in when he was already renown as the world's greatest physicist). He studied physics at ETH Zurich, a university that spawned out more than a dozen other Nobel laureates. By the way Mr. Stephens, to your other theory that only paid tuition universities provide quality education, ETH Zurich is still regarded as the best technical university on the continent and tuition is still free for Swiss nationals. This is of course heavily subsidized by the Swiss taxpayers money. Back to the Jewish genius theory, were Einstein born in Africa or India at the time, it is highly unlikely we would have seen any of his genius. I find that these racial theories claiming that some ethnic groups are successful matter what are just as dangerous as those claiming that other ethnic groups keep failing no matter what.
37
Lots of good points in this Op-Ed, until the part that said "Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews."
Pardon me, but the two are quite different. Anti-Semitism is the reprehensible attitude of hating Jews. Anti-Zionism is the right to disagree with Israeli government policies, typically towards the Arab/Palestinian population and territories.
One can oppose Israeli government policies without being anti-Semitic. In fact, one can be a Jew and anti-Zionist at the same time. One can even be anti-Semitic and pro-Zionist.
I understand this because I am an American, and I can oppose the policies of my government (such as the Iraq War, prosecuted by W. Bush with support from Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton) while still believing that Americans are good people, and America deserves to survive.
Israel is almost unique in that it is both a religious nation (Jewish), and a democracy by aspiration. Other religious nations (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran) do not aspire to be democracies, because they realize that religious rule can never be permanent in the face of democracy.
The equivalency of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is false.
36
Nothing succeeds like dumb luck. I was born in the United States in 1937. My parents, both from Lodz, Poland, met in Canada and moved to the U.S. Had they met and remained in Lodz when the Second World War broke out we, as Jews, would have been sent to a concentration camp and most likely murdered.
How does my story relate to this essay? The connecting fibre is antisemitism. Articles such as this one can be misunderstood as extolling Jewish exceptionalism which may lead one to be envious of Jews; it is envy of Jews that leads to antisemitism.
Stephens’ essay is accurate and the substance therein a justifiable source of pride, but realistically it can result in an antisemitic rhetoric.
19
I would be careful about any assigning intellectual accomplishments to anything racial. The religious requirements for reading sacred texts (at least for boys) gave Jews far more literacy in pre-WWl Europe than any other group, even if it was only in yiddish, and I think that one sees the effects of this even generations later. And if your going to base 'genius' on outsize representation for secular awards and accomplishments, you would also need to add 'Asian', as they now dominate top tier technical institutions such as Stuyvesant High Schoool like no ethnic or religious group ever did.
BTW, I can hardly think of worse metric of intelligence than the IQ test.
25
You can't leave out nepotism.
15
Why would an intelligent person tell others that they are less intelligent?
Isn’t this an insult? Why would a tiny minority of intellectually superior people tell the majority that they are inferior even if it were true? Would any people who had experienced centuries of hatred, murder, and enslavement be smart to let antagonize others? Would such behavior be smart?
How about equating dislike of a political movement with anti-Semitism?
This essay about intelligence is hugely tone deaf.
30
I have thought long and hard about the causes of anti Semitism and my conclusion is that the primary reason is envy. Despite all the violence and bigotry directed at Jews - and particularly Ashkenazi Jews - the community has made extraordinary contributions in multiple fields. I think people of lesser ability resent Jewish people’s ability to triumph in the face of incredible adversity AND retain their humanity and (historically misplaced?) faith in humankind. Whether the community’s outsized contribution is a function of genetics or culture or both is irrelevant. All I can say is that every other community and the world in general would be well served by emulating them.
14
This is a very confusing piece. It has the subtitle "It’s not about having higher I.Q.s." But then Stephens quotes a paper claiming that "Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average I.Q. of any ethnic group for which there are reliable data.” He cannot have it both ways. Furthermore, Stephens quotes a rabbi who states that "Jewish genius operates differently. It is prone to question the premise and rethink the concept; to ask why (or why not?)." Isn't that what every good scientist (not only Jewish) does? And finally, Stephens attributes these qualities to "religious tradition that, unlike some others, asks the believer not only to observe and obey but also to discuss and disagree." Well, but many (if not most) famous Jewish writers, scientists, and chess players are deeply secular people. So, this argument doesn't fly either. For full disclosure, I'm a Jewish and a scientist.
20
I grew up blossoming into an anti-semite by age 12 or so. In my extended family of poor, uneducated factory workers given to drinking too much and prone to violent ranting, Jews were targets of hate and rage.
They had stuff, they were successful, and we didn't and were miserable. I was hugely lucky to have had this confluence of teachers, doctors, and attorneys (for my delinquency), who showed up and took care of me.
Even a dumb kid will ask how is it that these "terrible" people seem disproportionately given to help out. I can't say I know the answer, but I know their help was real. May more folks have the luck that I did.
35
So Stephens is a "race-realist" , at least for the positive stereotypes of HIS particular group. Can we now look forward to the forthcoming columns by Peter Brimelow, Steve Sailer, and Stefan Molyneux??
I mean the paper that Stephens links to was written by a white supremacist anyway, so rather than have Stephens repurpose their work, shouldn't we just get things direct from the source?
21
Some controversy in NYT Comments about Stephens' premise, but there are explanations that neither belie statistics on the IQ of Ashkenazy Jews, nor make claims of "innate" superior brainpower.
By the Middle Ages in Europe, antisemitism was deeply codified in laws that, among other things, barred Jews from from owning and working land, along with income from labor that came with that.
Conditions forced Ashkenazy Jews into livelihoods that demanded creative thinking and mental development. This produced neural pathways, proclivities and aptitudes, refined and "passed down" over 100-150 generations. More important, it generated a culture that honored and supported learning, further encouraged by debating methods promoted by religious study of the Torah.
A claim could be made that the high IQ of Ashkenazy Jews was at least in part an entrepreneurial gift forced by antisemitism. They emigrated West to benefit humankind with scientific and creative breakthroughs -- think Relativity and the Great American Songbook -- while their tormentors continued on as serfs and/or laborers, working jobs and land that hatred denied to the Jews.
Historic justice, indeed -- lessons which the ignorant today still miss, to their own detriment.
19
It is dangerous and silly to skip so blithely into equating serious questions about Israeli policy with “anti-Zionism” and anti-Semitism. Any person, Jew or not, should be able to criticize Israeli policies without being tarred with the anti-Semite label.
29
As a Jew, the entire article and its ugly elitism offends me. In fact I find it to be unintelligent. The only aspect of Judaism that may contribute to Jewish achievement in intellectual fields is that literacy is the traditional mandate for participating religiously and paired with the more or less two thousand years of Torah study as an isolated and persecuted community encouraged a deeply meditative culture. I don't see this operating in Israel, however: I see a culture of belligerent insularity, intolerance, and a criminal insensitivity to the suffering of the displace Palestinians. I would therefore especially and vehemently take issue with the author's contention that "[a]nti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism..." The Zionists, in their behavior, well deserve the censure of those who oppose them!
44
What an interesting piece, and what a disappointing conclusion: the barely obscured equivalence between critique towards Israel and anti-zionism, and from there to anti-antisemitism. Insulating Israel from criticism contradicts some of the central thoughts of this otherwise thoughtful article.
8
This was a truly silly column, generalizing a certain immigrant culture and confusing it with innate traits. Didn’t the mayor of New York cut a deal that the city would keep ignoring that the ultra Orthodox yeshivot do not teach secular subjects to any standard that would enable their students to actually function in the world?
17
The problem with this article lies not in its truth or falsity. The problem is in its extrapolation. In America it should be that (by way of example) a grade point average of x.yz is the minimum to be considered for entrance into this college or that. Whether one particular ethnic group or another has a higher percentage of members above the bar is irrelevant. This article would have me looking for Jews first and everyone else second. Where has that gotten us before? Jewish quotas on entrance to Harvard early in the last century. Today, we have Asian quotas at Harvard for the same set of reasons. Treat each one of us as an individual, without regard to labels is an ideal to strive for and eventually achieve. PS: Anyone who thinks all of us Jews are smart never met my late Aunt Gilda. A heart of gold, but not the deepest of thinkers. Shabbat Shalom.
12
About 70% of Jewish Americans tend to vote Democratic.
About 70% of ALL Americans think Trump's actions regarding Ukraine were wrong.
So I'd say, on matters where intelligence really matters, Jewish Americans are, on average, about as intelligent as are ALL Americans, and no smarter.
8
Perhaps an article on Jewish resilience would have served us better.
30
What is true is true. Jews have been known as “the people of the book” for centuries. “The book” is the Hebrew bible or Pentateuch(five Books of Moses). As Tolstoy, a great admirer of the Jewish people said, “During the dark ages, most people couldn’t read except for clergy and the Jew”. Brett is right. A Cossack or Crusader could take your life. Your house. Your money. No one could take the knowledge in your head or your health. That is why the goodbye of “zay gezunt” (go in health) is said in Yiddish and L’Chaim (to life) is toasted. The Jewish people knew that death and torture could occur on a whim or a lie. And, the belief that to save one, is to save the world, whether you are religious or secular. Can you imagine a world without Jonas Salk?
14
There is a remarkable (bot now fogotten) history of Jewish success as boxers (and promoters of the fight industry). Late in the 19C some Americans held the stereotype that Jews, although less intelligent than average (they often 'failed' IQ tests, ignoring the fact that the new immigrants did not speak English): but they were characterized as hardy and tough, very good fighters. Reacting to this stereotype, some Jews opted for careers as professional boxers, thus fulfilling steretypes.
13
Jewish parents from time immemorial have taught their children that the only thing in life that cannot be taken from them is their education. Is Bret Stephens correct in his opinion of the secrets of Jewish genius? One fact is undeniably true: that Jesus of Bethlehem was a Jew born in Israel 2020 years ago. Mr. Stephens tells us that in the hatreds of this century, Jewish genius is "a terribly fragile flower".
4
Talk about Jewish accomplishments including Nobel prizes, and you can guarantee anti-Semites will show their true colors. Recognizing intellectual brilliance in one group doesn't diminish great minds in others. But jealousy and hatred is unbecoming in any human being, Just a thought.
19
And with that logic, what of Palestinians, Native Americans, Africans, et. al? Abused, dragged from their homes, maimed, raped, killed, and their land stolen.
It’s an interesting idea, the culture of thinking and problem solving developed by shared heartbreak and loss, Mr Stephens, but that’s hardly causation for genius or high IQ within a certain religious group that was victim to genocide.
13
I believe that by the nature of being apart from the majority, the “outsider” — be they gays, blacks or Jews — thinks clearer, see farther and is more able to recognize truth and beauty. Later, the others catch up.
14
Why the distinction between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews. What about Maimonides, Emma Lazarus, Baruch Spinoza, Benjamin Cardozo, Haym Solomon, Benjamin Disraeli, Moses Montefiore..
26
So Bret, I gather this column is in preparation for your coming out and supporting Bernie Sanders for President. (I'm not Jewish, and I do).
I look forward in most hopeful anticipation.
46
Right. He spoke about genius and actual achievements. Not phony grandstanding and ideas whose values have been disproved
10
Though I found myself touched by the comments about the original thinking of Ashkenazic Jews and how it's based on the uncertainty of many centuries of diaspora and marginalization, I want to point out that such claims are a slippery slope. Any exceptionalism risks being turned against the exceptional group, and genius Jews become greedy Jews in the blink of an eye. Instead let's each, of whatever ethnic group or racial blend, aspire to be a mensch, which in Yiddish literally means person, but implies a good, kind, just, compassionate person--in other words, a true human being.
60
From the time that Jews established a tiny state in and around Judea at about 1000 BC, to the last century BC, the Jews seem not to have invented or developed anything other than monotheism, and many people would not consider that an advance. In contrast, during that same period Greek and Roman cultures in Athens and elsewhere invented Western Civilization. Jews only began to contribute ideas and inventions after they came into contact with western European cultures. One could plausibly argue that the cultural contributions of Great Britain greatly exceeds those of Jews throughout history. Intellectual "hot spots" have appeared in many different places, such as Shang China, Olmec and Maya central America, pre-war Berlin and Paris etc. And as for the supposed intellect of the Ashkenazim, intelligence tests notoriously measure many factors other than individual cognitive skills. It's not possible to demonstrate dispositively that statistical methods can be used to distinguish two groups from one another in cognitive abilities.
31
Our Jewish mothers know what Tiger mothers and Nigerian parents (mostly mothers), know which is that education is important, and that pushing your children to strive and excel, regardless of the cost (emotionally or otherwise), will often lead to “success”.
Smart Jewish mothers, and everyone else for that matter, would be wise to dispense with perpetuating model minority myths. They are a kind of racism, as insidious as any other. They do not in fact benefit anyone, and serve to promote and entrench racial difference.
46
Last night I watched a documentary on PBS: “the Arabs of Spain”, which reminded me that most of inventions and knowledge occurred as a consequence of Muslims, Jews and Christians coexisting and sharing their interests and thirst for discovery. However, Arabs made most advances in Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine, etc. first. I am Jewish however, we should not consider ourselves as the most intelligent because we wouldn’t have acquired this knowledge without the contribution of other cultures. In addition, IQ is not universally considered as a good measure of intelligence.
Also, I consider myself very Jewish but do not agree with Netanyahu’s and his coalition’s policies towards Palestinians and the poor in Israel. Israel is one of the most unequal countries in the world.
79
I did not expect a column like this from Bret Stephens, segregating a sub group of a group as the smartest. In a class made up of several races, a teacher like Bret Stephens would be biased towards his Ashkenazi Jewish students from day one.
Diversity means we stop separating people into groups. We mix with each other and not live in ghettos. As long as we separate ourselves by race, religion, colour, type of clothing, we are not living in a country with diversity.
36
To accept this thesis is to then accept the superiority of men over women, whites over blacks, and to conflate power and achievement with merit and nothing else.
79
Forgive me Bret, for I do not doubt your good intentions. But somehow at this precarious time I feel this almost is Anti-Semitic to single us out.
By and large, the swell of Jewish emigration to this country ended in the mid-20th century. We are now 4th and 5th generations, and in many cases, have mingled and inter-married. As is the case with many different ethnic and religious groups, there is a hunger to establish and succeed in America. Yes, prior newly-minted American Jews were disproportionately successful as you point out. But I bet if you look at the current group, while we still may excel to some modest degree, the newer immigrants from Asia and India are excelling to a larger degree than the Jews, taking those First Violin and Medical school seats.
But one point is frighteningly true - we Jews are sensing that our time is coming, once again, to flee. That, similar to our ancestors in Europe pre-WWII - we are being scapegoated for the problems that exist today - we are being singled out - and to keep a bag packed at the door.
My son recently asked me, “What made the German Jews who escaped so smart to know what the breaking point was for their safety, and to flee beforehand?”
I guess this will be the proof to your premises. Are we still smart enough to know?
26
Mr. Stephens unleashes more howlers, not least his equating of the programs of "anti-Zionism"--a label in want of any specification--with anti-semitism. That, for instance, some of those who are most critical of contemporary policies of the nation-state of Israel are ethnically Jewish, are observant Jews, are participants and leaders in widely recognized Jewish advocacy groups, seems to escape Mr. Stephens. That, for instance, it is the current caretakers of the so-called Greater Israel vision (and their enablers) who have themselves deployed the terrible label of 'anti-semite' to de-legitimate those with serious differences of opinion on Israeli land and water policies, on the settlements, on Palestinian rights under international law, also seems to be neglected in this piece.
18
Before I left America in 1968 most of my best friends there were Jewish. I still miss them. After living in other countries for 52 years, I have the feeling that the common enemy of all humanity is violence. There is simply more violence in America than in other countries. Anti-Semitism is one form of this violence. I am very sorry for what my native country has become and dread the increase in its xenophobia. This is not the land that I was taught to love.
18
Did this article tell us something wr didn’t already know.
Centuries of oppression and marginality, emigration, and community with a central religious identity....Jews, Irish, and others. What Ashkenazi Jews did in science the Irish did in literature. But, exactly how?
The author hints at an explanation: forced acceptance of temporality. Nothing is lasting but knowledge and tradition.
Sure. No dispute.
But I was hoping to read something on child-rearing, construction of cultural authority, etc.
Nothing new here.
2
Bret, you missed it, because of your own idea that religion provides The Answer.
Many faiths teach there is An Answer to any question - and one’s duty is to accept the answer as given.
The basis of Judaism is there is NO one right answer, or, if there is, the Deity knows, humanity doesn’t and it is man’s job to find it - generally through debate - the kind one had better be well prepared for.
Take any random page from a Talmudic tractate.
In the center, you will find the majority opinion.
Surrounding it, are opinions and different answers by men considered as knowledgeable as the authors of the center either partially agreeing - or saying, outright, “you’re wrong”.
And it has led to some human decisions becoming major facets of the faith: the millennia-old rule separating milk and meat is based on three reputations in the Torah that one must not cook a kid in its mother’s milk, my great-grandfather Elisha, son of a shochate (rabbi and ritual slaughterer) said.
He insisted it really meant ‘you may eat most vegetarian mammals and birds, but you must not treat them cruelly, and what could be crueler than cooking a young goat in the milk its mother made to feed it’.
Mom asked him why study something you think is wrong.
‘Because you have to know what’s written to decide if it’s wrong’.
No “God works in mysterious ways” rubbish - read the source and millennia of opinion - reach your own answer.
His was a minority minority view.
But it provides a possible answer to your question.
8
Yuri Slezkine, an eminent historian at Berkeley, offers a much more nuanced and compelling study of "Jewish genius" in his book "The Jewish Century." Here's the gist of it from the blurb:
"Slezkine argues that the Jews were, in effect, among the world’s first free agents. They traditionally belonged to a social and anthropological category known as “service nomads,” an outsider group specializing in the delivery of goods and services. Their role, Slezkine argues, was part of a broader division of human labor between what he calls Mercurians--entrepreneurial minorities — and Apollonians — food-producing majorities. Since the dawning of the Modern Age, Mercurians have taken center stage. In fact, Slezkine argues, modernity is all about Apollonians becoming Mercurians — urban, mobile, literate, articulate, intellectually intricate, physically fastidious, and occupationally flexible. Since no group has been more adept at Mercurianism than the Jews, he contends, these exemplary ancients are now model moderns."
6
Mr. Stephens :
I was born Jewish and shall die Jewish. However, I am an Atheist. I used to be an Agnostic, but one day I awoke and realized that I could not live any longer hedging my bets. I am proud to be both a Jew and an Atheist. To me it poses no problem. Jews, though technically a religion have been treated as a race. What worries me is that the history of racism towards Jews has set the "gold standard" of how to deal with races who trouble us, our perceptions and tautological ideologies. Jews in Medevil times were the only "others" in European society. Making anyone or any group the 'Other" enables the main group to deny itself from identifying with them. No empathy results, historically, in tribalism that leads to genocide. Read Wagner's treatise on Jews and how they were an infestation that needs to be eradicated. Sound familiar? Today's mexican or Central American seeking a better life in the USA has been so labeled by our current President. Women and Children in concentration camps. What's next - Ovens?
Tribalism, Racism, Anti-Semitism, whatever the label - let's blame the "other".
This article fails miserably to do any more than make the Jews the "others." In distinguishing them and me for their accomplishments you have hightened our "otherness" and exposed us to more hatred, more violence, more genocide.
Our only hope is through humanism. Once all humans think of their "tribe" as including all humans, then racism and genocide will end.
29
Thank you, former editor of the Jerusalem Post. Stay tuned for next week’s featured column, in which the former mascot of the New England Patriots explains their gridiron dominance.
12
Stereotyping, even if good, is still stereotyping.
16
one of the bedrocks of jewish education is introduction to "Talmudic thinking" where one is encouraged to question, analyze, debate, dissect, virtually every aspect of religion, life, law, science, politics etc.
I laugh when I see the bumper sticker QUESTION AUTHORITY
a simplistic approach to those who haven't spent hours analyzing the pros and cons
one of the recent brilliant approaches to this occurred when 2 Jews were seated next to one another on a flight. each was reading from a different Talmud tractate. they bemused, "wouldn't it be wonderful if we could both be reading the same page of the same book at the same time? then we could discuss and debate". Thus was born the concept and practice of DAF YOMI. a page a day. Seven years of "learning" one page of Talmud every day each observant Jew in the world at the same time on the same page! seven years later having completed the 17 huge tractates a celebration was held in MSG. around 5,000 scholars attended. now each cycle attracts tens if not hundreds of thousands! Jewish "genius"
4
Oy vey, I'm not sure what to think about this piece.
For a start, let's dump the IQ test aspect. There are all kinds of people in this world with very high intelligence who wouldn't score well.
Those who have mentioned historical Jewish migration to cities may be onto something.
I don't know about the rest, but I will say that my favorite part of growing up Jewish is the Marx Brothers.
12
This just reinforces the stereotype of insular, globally ignorant Americans. There are pockets of exceptional ability in every geography, nation, culture. Due to Western hegemony, those pockets have varying levels of visibility and recognition. But trust an American to assign global supremacy to a narrow demographic with which they are familiar. Stephens should get out more.
22
It does not follow that one is necessarily anti-Semitic if they hold a pro-Palestine geopolitical position, which Stephens implies. And, as a Black American, I resent Stephens taking one recent (yet terrible) incident of Black anti-Semitism and making it seem as if that particular brand of hatred towards Jewish people/culture has been enmity largely featured by that particular minority group for as long as it has been featured by the majority (i.e., white people), or that it has been as historically pernicious as the structural anti-Semitism enacted by white people.
16
Given Stephens legendary inability to handle any sort of criticism, it's no surprise that he thinks Jewish intellectualism is "terribly fragile", but its survival through centuries of oppression actually indicates the opposite.
Perhaps the fragility is all his?
12
A friend once made a joking comment to me that you can't argue with God. My response: "I'm a Jew. That's what we do."
13
The inferiority or superiority of any 'group' of people (as opposed to individuals) is to me a form of eugenics. And certainly is not science based. It is the same old same old desire to find easy answers to social issues. So odd that someone would inflict this pernicious form of thinking on Jewish people in particular. Very disturbing.
18
There is always the matter of what counts as knowledge? Who decides?
9
Jewish, 65 years old.
Here's the thing.
We all came out of some evolutionary swamp at a certain point - or at least our forebearers did.
That's not something any of us can take credit for. That's our planet and the history of life upon it.
If an evolution of humans we refer to as Jews have a natural, enhanced intellect for some unknown reason, I submit they had absolutely nothing to do with it.
So, good if that's the case.
Make the most of it.
Use it, nurture it. That's the real gift.
Apply it well, with humility and good intentions.
It's dumb evolutionary luck in the first place.
9
“Affirmation of diverse identity” is not something positive in Israel which may explain why anti-Zionism has nothing to do with anti-semitism. The former is a political stance, the latter is unacceptable racism. Not so bright to confute the two. Anyone who needs to understand more about possible the social origins of anti-semitism should read Benedict Spinoza... born a Jew but excommunicated for his ruthless honesty in the face of narratives of exceptionalism... As for intellectual excellence and cultural contribution, it’s clear that Jews make a disproportionate contribution to civilisation. Their diaspora has been a huge benefit to the values inherent in Western civilisation. So why is Israel going so wrong?
11
It doesn't take genius to live with your neighbor.
16
The Rabbi who devised to give a football to each team is an Orthodox, rejecting Evolution, rejecting enlightenment and science and adhering to the Jewish rituals, many of which are sexist and homophobic. Einstein wisdom was freedom from the ilk of the Rabbi with 2 footballs and adaptation of cosmopolitan identity that keep the football rule of one ball to 2 teams, universal quest of wisdom and knowledge, Newton. Bret, enough with the Schmalz.
13
This submission was written after I had submitted a short reply to a comment by another Lundgren, B. Lundgren, Norfolk VA, Reader Pick No. 1, just before I was about to board a ferry. I noted that I supported his/her comment in detail.
I quote one line from B. Lundgren: “The idea of labeling an entire religion (or race or gender) as this or that leads to nothing good….”
I agree completely, and I believe one of my intellectual heroes, Professor Emeritus Richard Lewontin, who wrote an essay “Is There A Jewish Gene” New York Review of Books, December 6, 2012, might agree.
We suffer right now from movements in the United States and Sweden that have as their foundation a belief that there is one and only one superior cluster of human beings, the one they call “white”. They are wrong, but they have the full support of the President of the United States of America, who is also wrong.
Think again Bret. There is no superior group
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
15
Israel is a foreign country, and anti Zionism is not anti Semitism. Stephens cleverly attempts to conflate the two, and it simply doesn't work. What is good for Israel and what is good for Jews is not the same thing.
Take the simplest example. An increase in anti Semitism is bad for Jews (and for the rest of us). However, it promotes emigration to Israel, and is therefore good for Israel. Bad for Jews, good for Israel.
The inverse is also true. If anti Semitism were to miraculously disappear, Israeli Jews would (on the margin) choose to leave rather than continue to abuse Palestinians. Bad for Israel, good for the Jews that choose to leave.
21
Brett Stephen’s column ‘The Secrets of Jewish Genius,” brought to mind something I have never forgotten when reading Pauline Kael’s review of the 1974 Louis Malle film “Au Revoir les Enfants.” Ms. Kael wonders at the end of her review of the film about a teenage Jewish boy being hidden from the Nazis in French Catholic boarding school and who is eventually betrayed and taken away, if Malle had to make him so “brilliant, and a gifted pianist and courageous” and if the audience wouldn’t have mourned him as much if he had been “just an average, schmucky kid with pimples.”
Whether they are positive traits like “genius” or more negative ones, generalizations about ethnic groups are always inherently dangerous.
23
I know several Jewish-Askenazi families whose children, despite similar "nature" & "nurture", turned out to have very different careers; careers being a proxy for "genius" or "smarts".
They point out that, owing to persecution, Jews tend to migrate to where societies are open & tolerant (the American university at its best, as described). Such societies tend to foster Nobel prize winners. Conversely, had Hitler not chased out Geman Jews, intellectuals and critics, Germany would have developed the nuke first and there would not have been a Manhattan Project or von Neuman architecture computers.
Being perpetual "guests" in Western countries, they have survived in the middle/professional classes; these tend to produce more Nobel prize winners than the peasantry or proletariat.
6
Speaking as an ethnically Jewish and secular person, so much wrong here - sweeping generalizations about any ethnic group always presents peril - but also interesting that all of the "genius" Jews you name here - Einstein, Franklin, Marx, Kafka - were not religious, and that the definition of Jewish genius you outline involves skepticism and openness to questioning. Those very qualities are inconsistent with rigid religious faith.The most religious Jews - the Orthodox - are the most likely to follow blindly and without question and the most rejecting of intellectual innovation and new ideas. So how are you actually defining the Jewish people? And how does the rise of Orthodox communities hostile to modern ideas, often barely educating their children, square with your paradigm of the "gifted" Jew?
41
How many geniuses from every ethnic group have died young before they could express or use their talent? The numbers at the core of this article are too small. There were no Nobel prizes or or concert halls 8000 years ago. Who invented the wheel? I have enormous admiration for Jewish artists, scientists et al., and I also believe the Jews are the chosen people, but the horizons of the author are not wide enough.
1
To such a lofty postulation such a feeble explanation.
History - the story of a people - can explain more, succinctly. The Ashkenazi Jews in Europe did not own land nor were they involved in wars while the rich European families were. Need we remember that the rich non-Jewish families send their male offspring - in armor of not - to fight, whether for the glory of the king, or to knock down the competing "noble" family or to joust and win the damsel's heart...?
In a nut shell, the sons of the non-Jewish rich families were trained to fight and died, While the sons of the rabbis were always better fed and schooled...with the outcome that we know too well and is trumpeted in this here article.
Voila, it is hereby explained. Besides, there is a moral to the story. It does not pay to waste exorbitant resources to send your kids to fight and die in stupid wars, But it surely pays off to invest in their education and wellbeing, which is what the Jewish people (especially the rabbis) did!
9
It's a Jewish thought experiment to ask "What is a good Jew." One person might reply, "Someone who prays three times a day." Someone else might respond, "Someone who keeps kosher." Another person might say, "Someone who is moral and follows the Law." My grandfather said, "A good Jew always keeps a suitcase under the bed."
12
This article is ridiculous and very discriminatory. I am Jewish and grew up in a Jewish community. During my life I have known hundreds of Jewish people. The number of idiots among them is about the same percentage as with the non-Jews I've met.
I greatly resent this writer's stereotyping. Once you start with a so-called good stereotype, it is only the smallest of steps to getting the bad stereotypes.
If Jews seem to be smarter, look to the environment, not to the ethnicity. For example, Jewish children (especially boys) are required to attend Hebrew school for several years. Having to prepare for a bar mitzvah is a lot of work. This encourages the development of a work ethic, and also helps to develop study habits.
Another reason: Jewish parents have historically seen education as a means of overcoming discrimination, and have pushed their children to do well academically. This does not mean Jews are intrinsically smarter.
44
Sigh...And what to make of my well educated and mostly well off Jewish friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who let slip their annoyance, sometimes outright disdain (All they do is study!), and sotto voce racism for the sons and daughters of Asian Americans who out achieve their own children in school? What to make of the much talked about special Jewish Moral code when it goes AWOL in Israel where Jews are in the majority? I think what you make of it is that Jews are people like anyone else, no better; no worse. Mr. Stephens likely feels the need to believe in Jewish exceptionalism but I think we would all be better off if we abandoned his tribal mode of thinking and simply looked at one another as fellow human beings during our limited time on earth.
34
What a wrong, dangerous - and extremely unwise - article. There are strong substantive counter-arguments and comments that most sensible people will not offer in response because of the vitriol, and indeed again danger, that would be the inevitable result of such responses. The over-whelming self-censoring that takes place in this regard is at least equivalent to the censoriousness that is directed (mostly wrongly) at the censoring of anti-Zionism on campuses. This article is not unlike wrongly shouting "fire" in a crowded theater: wrong, dangerous, and unwise.
17
I'm sure I'm not the only Jew to have read this peace and find it offensive. The reasons should be obvious. Surprised the NYT published this piece.
The overwhelming majority of Jews are ordinary people no better or worse than others. They include Nobel prize winners as well as common criminals. Outstanding humanitarians and sadly the likes of Stephen Miller.
47
"Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews."
I figured a pro-settlement trope would find its way into the article. In your list of Jewish geniuses, only Marx was disparaged. His political philosophy would be at odds with today's trend toward authoritarianism and ethno-nationalism, as exemplified by Cyrus The Great tweeting in the White House and his support of his bro Netanyahu. As far as genius, I agree, how our country got in involved in the Middle East war on terror costing us $300 billion a year over the last 18 years, which has minimal strategic value to us relative to its cost, is a feat of lobbying genius.
15
Bret Stephens doesn't mention Sephardic Jews. Does this omission imply that Sephardic Jews are dumb? Or is his omission due to the fact that Sephardic Jews are outnumbered in America by the larger numbers of Jews from Poland and Russia who immigrated to the US while Sephardic Jews were still living in Arab lands? Or maybe he is ignorant of the intellectual and cultural achievements of Sephardic Jews in Spain, Portugal and Arab lands.
16
“Give one ball to each side, and they will have nothing to fight over.”
In the 19th century, another Ashkenazi Jew counseled the same basic thing in somewhat different language, and for somewhat different reasons:
“From each according to his ability; to each according to his needs.”
History has proved that that approach hasn’t worked out terribly well.
(The above written by a 21st century Ashkenazi Jew.)
2
That 2005 paper on the evolution of Jewish IQ referenced by Mr. Stephens -- "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" by Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy, and Henry Harpending -- is a fascinating read. Here is the New York Times' summary: "Researchers Say Intelligence and Diseases May Be Linked in Ashkenazic Genes:"
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/science/researchers-say-intelligence-and-diseases-may-be-linked-in.html
4
I have always been intrigued by the higher average intellect of Ashkenazi Jews. It's too bad it's such a taboo subject to consider that intelligence is a trait subject to the same evolutionary forces as any other physical or mental trait.
What were those evolutionary forces that made Ashkenazi Jews so much smarter? Was it because they were pigeon-holed into doing certain types of work that rewarded the most logical and fair minded?
It's also easy to understand the resentment that Hitler felt towards Jewish people because of their success. It's truly amazing the extent to which Jewish people dominate thriving economies like today's America or Europe of the 1930's.
It's refreshing that the author is willing to speak an obvious fact that rarely receives public discussion.
13
'... anecdote from Norman Lebrecht’s new book, “Genius & Anxiety,” ...'
The anecdote is great, but the complete title reveals the underlying racism of the book:
"Genius and Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847–1947"
How many publishers now would accept a book titled: "How White People Changed the World for the Better"?
Evidently, there is "good" racism and "bad" racism. Some people don't seem to recognize their own double-standards.
11
A research project with a potential for a Nobel Prize?
Compare the distant Jewish communal life before Christ with the current society of Israel. Also, compare and contrast the Jewish group behavior in extreme adversity and super-prosperity.
3
the last sentence seems to undermine the whole essay, in any case, and seriously, how can you write about Jewish brilliance and leave out comedians, (sigh) the marx brothers?
4
Mr. Stephens,
you forgot to mention Freud. Marx, Einstein and Freud were the Jews who made the 20th century.
Wilhelm Evertz
8
Almost a good article. Any group with a culture of intellectualism will do well intellectually. As an atheist, I was nonetheless informally an honorary jew among a certain cohort in my youth. That because of my curiosity and questioning of authority (doctrine) Mr. Stephens mentions.
Jews are under attack as are Blacks, Hispanics, LGBetc, Women, and Muslims. Who is not in the Venn diagram of these groups here (besides, interestingly, Asians)? Just say it and call it what it is.
Mr. Stephens makes his usual anti-intellectual asides confusing anti-semitism with criticism of Israels politics. Tedious, shallow and irritating from someone touting intellect.
I'm grateful for cultures that value thought, reason, and reflection and still recognize generosity and kindness. Jewish culture being one among several. It's unfortunate that so many of those through time have been focused on the most absurd of all intellectual bankruptcies: the credence of abrahamic religion. I weep at all the mental energy could have been focused on enterprises useful to humanity rather than destructive.
Those cultures ebb and flow, rise and fall, through history and our present and undoubtedly our future. Anti-intellectualism can't help but end badly. It is an existential threat to the US right now. We can only hope the anti-intellectualism of white evangelical "christians" (CINOs) can be overcome by the positive sides of Black, Hispanic, LGBetc, Women's, Jewish, Asian and Atheist intellectualism.
22
Thanks, Brett. That so many commentators take high umbrage confirms the truth of your message. Good work!
9
Jews, not Biblical Hebrews, were, and are, non violent, and never used any deity to justify acts of aggression. That may be the "Brilliance," identified in this Opinion, that forces thoughtful, grounded and reasoned conclusions; a home for critical thinkers.
4
I think you braved this article because of the increase in anti-semitism here and in Europe. The latter is a result of the turn toward ultra-nationalism and contempt for knowledge. Cosmopolitanism is a good thing. Achievement is a virtue.
Excellence should be expected of every child and every worker.
Anti-semitism occurs during ages of regression and ignorance.
Remember the candidate who boomed, "I love the uneducated?"
You remind us of our debt to knowledge, virtue, and achievement when you recount our debt to Jewish
culture.
The question is why we have descended into this new dark ages.
14
Okay, if you are going to talk about one ethnicity being smarter or more accomplished, does this mean you will talk about another ethnicity being less so? Tread carefully or the Year Zero PC mob will tear you to pieces. However, on a personal note, I have noticed that many Jews do something others so much better than others - they work for the best of the family. Is it no wonder ethnicities that do so much worse in society also often lack family structure? I believe these true family values are the key to prosperity.
15
“I have solved your problem,” the rabbi says.
“How?”
“Give one ball to each side, and they will have nothing to fight over.”
I must admit I do not understand how this as a way to entice the students to study more. I guess I do not see playing a game as fighting, but rather doing something as group and interacting with others.
3
What a disastrous column. I am an Ashkenazi Jew and to be imply that we are intellectually superior to our Sephardi and Mizrachi cousins and the many people who choose Judaism is insulting and absurd. The Rambam, Maimonedes, was among the many great Rabbis who was not Ashkenazi. We are also not smarter in any way than our community at large. The column implies there are alternative ways to answer the question of what is smart but it did not go far enough. We need to look at this issue holistically and ask forgiveness for such appealing assertions put forth by the columnist.
32
Stephens seems to be accepting the claim that Jews are genetically superior—at least when it comes to intellect—and also culturally superior.
While this could be true, it raises many problematic issues. Could Jews also be genetically predisposed to greed or clannishness or other negative characteristics often attributed to them by anti-Semites? Are other groups genetically inferior as White supremacists claim? If we start going down this path of genetic determination of intelligence and behaviour we end up in some very ugly dark alleys.
It's true that genetically isolated populations can develop distinctive genetic profiles that can increase the probability of individuals in that population demonstrating certain genetically determined traits at higher or lower frequencies than people in other populations. This could mean that on average the Ashkenazim have higher IQs than other groups and that exceptionally high IQs are more common among the Ashkenazim. But it's important to understand that the distributions of IQ in any two populations overlap extensively, and a larger population may have just as many individuals with high IQ as a smaller population, even if, on average, the smaller population has a higher IQ. Further, it's important to recognize that intelligence and its genetic bases are not well understood, that the genomes within any group are varied and in constant flux, and most groups are mixed.
Until we have brighter light, it's better to avoid dark alleys.
30
I look forward to Bret Stephens’s column on why African-Americans are more athletic than other races and ethnicities. Evidently there’s nothing offensive or potentially dangerous about stereotyping an entire group of people.
67
Jewish culture encourages learning, questioning, understanding. We don't have a monopoly on that, but we take the ball and run with it.
Judaism doesn't proselytize or recruit. If you want what we have, come join us. It's not about what people say, but what they do and what's in their hearts as they do it.
Judaism is about one God, no relatives unless all of us are. There is no authoritarian dictator, although many teachers ("rabbi" means teacher, not priest) see different paths to that higher power.
It's no wonder authoritarian religions and governments dislike us. They try to narrow their followers' focus and understanding; Judaism tries to widen them. Knowledge is power. Jews don't "own" knowledge, but we understand and appreciate it, and most importantly, we use it.
13
Great Essay. We gentiles can learn much from thinking about how Jews have seen and see the world, have questioned what they've seen, and how they have had to act in the world--and in particular in the western world--to survive in it.
But I have to say I appreciate your sighing before naming Karl Marx. Marx wasn't Lenin, let alone Stalin or Pol Pot. And I don't have to tell you that Marx is a seminal figure in the history of the West and the modern world. (I was also disappointed you didn't mention Freud, who is perhaps the third great "Jewish mind" of the modern era along with Marx and Einstein, I mean, if its appropriate to create such a category)
But if the point of your "sigh" was that Marx "gives the Jewish people a bad name", I can assure you he doesn't. I've heard that people from all over the world come to his grave in London every day and put flowers on it. And I believe that interest endures to this very day because at bottom Marx was a great champion of the common man and the struggles of ordinary people.
So, whatever your beef with the left, or socialism, or how leftist thought has evolved, Marx deserves more respect than this. And if you need an additional reason, a lot of thinkers credit him with creating the very concept capitalism, AND of creating the most prescient analysis of the nature of its contradictions and crises, one of which we appear to be living in at this very moment!
11
It is rather interesting that a lot of commenters here either disagree with the data without any proof to the contrary, or, attack the piece and the editors because they feel that stating facts and data is wrong if it is politically incorrect. As with most things, political correctness taken to the extreme is harmful and leads to outcomes contrary to the intended results. I found Mr. Stephens' piece thought provoking and worthy for publication in the NYT.
17
I'm one of these people. It's not just raw intellectual power. It's not being the best speller or the best equation solver. It's the way one looks at the world. It's not about following, it's about questioning. It's not about arguing to win, it's about arguing to achieve a better understanding, a higher enlightenment.
Jewish people don't just follow God. Jews argue with God. Jews question God. Jews wrote the Talmud, which is commentary on the Bible and is many, many times larger. The comments are more interesting than the original text.
We don't want our thinking to be constrained, to be channeled. That allows for a free flow of ideas. These comment boards are a good example. I often write comments that are tangential to the article, same issues. Pretty good stuff, thought provoking, thinking outside of the box. They don't get through the moderators or get buried. The Times doesn't want that. They obviously consider that editorializing, not commenting. They don't want us to editorialize, they want us to focus precisely on the article, to comment. They want us to stay in the box.
We don't want to stay in the box. That's why I started my own business, so I can experience a free flow of ideas in my work. That's why I have disdain for people who only tout their credentials instead of their creativity and understanding, disdain for people who blindly follow protocols and never deviate, no matter what the conditions.
This is the secret of Jewish genius.
16
This is one column that could have been much longer. And yet in merely one perspective it really says it all: the less you have, the more you have.
The richness of The Roman Empire was ultimately it’s downfall. Perhaps America could learn a lesson from this as behemoth corporations shape our laws and we lose the brotherhood of human kindness in our quest to protect our “identity”.
4
It is a well known fact that the differences in IQ among the members of an ethnic group are considerably greater than differences in IQ between whole ethnic groups.
In other words, the difference in IQ between Einstein and Bret Stephens is going to be much greater than the differences in IQ between "Ashkenazi Jews" and "group X".
I wonder how IQ tests disentangle hard-work and perseverance from natural endowment? I am a big fan of Mr. Stephen's column but I think that in this article he went down an unfruitful road.
Genes are not destiny. And how we choose to think about ourselves has tremendous influence on our actions.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about
what we pretend to be.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
9
Although I am sure this is a well intentioned article, I find the timing and theme of Jewish intellectual superiority in the current era of violent anti Semitism as showing poor judgement. Is it intellectual superiority? My immigrant grandparents worked from dawn to dusk running a cleaners so that their children would go to school and do better than their generation. Is this genius or the passion and luck of finding a safe place to raise a family in a country that will reward hard work and education regardless of origin? Maybe that is indeed the genius of being an immigrant and why the Untied States thrives with intellectual discovery.
9
Jews, because of centuries of persecution, are more atuned to injustice and have fought more for social justice than most other groups. What I find a bit puzzling is that Brett is not quite in the same mold, his conservative positions do not match the liberal politics of most American Jews. Even more puzzling is Stephen Miller, who's position on refugees and immigrants is abhorrent and ignores Jewish history. Rabid nationalism and xenophobia is almost always corollated with anti-semitism, so it is not surprising that most Jews always oppose them. Unfortunately, in Israel that tradition is being diluted and the nationalist bug is taking hold. Criticism of Israeli policies are being identified with anti-semitism while much of it from Jews living abroad is in fact recognizing that Israeli policies are not living up to the standards they expect.
11
I think there might be some over-thinking at-play when speaking about anti-Semitism. The very first bit of world event news I can remember sinking in while in grade school was the ado in the Middle East. The ado that simply has not changed decades later due in large part to Israel's seeming desire to keep throwing sand in the water to obscure a path to peace. I think the true root of the mischaracterized anti-Semitism is Israel's penchant to do all they can to continue, if not exacerbate, the feud with Palestine. The continued feud that is at the base of the lucrative arms deal Israel has long enjoyed with the U.S., amounting in an annual giveaway of billions of dollars (courtesy the American taxpayer) with no end in sight, thanks in large part to the continued unrest in the region that Israel insists upon.
9
"Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews."
Nice try. Slipping into a well reasoned and presented study of Jewish superiority (Many of the most important and influential people in my life were Jewish, so I agree.) a justification for Israeli violation of human rights.
No, just because Jews do it, it is not unassailable and right.
Anti-Semitism is a form of opposition to people of a certain ethnic group, not necessarily a religion.
Ironically, it is being practiced by Israel (Pakistanis are also a Semitic people).
Anti-Zionism is a form of opposition to something a political state, including a large number of non-Jewish inhabitants. is doing in contradiction to the international laws that established that state and in open violation of the rights of another people.
Big difference.
10
In Delhi, there is one street of family run restaurants that serve the best parathas you’ve ever had. In some parts of the world, pearl divers can stay underwater for an amazing length of time. There are more top notch soccer players in Brazil, which has won 5 times and qualified every single time. In short, human achievement is long and complex and reducing it to money, IQ or even Nobel prizes is doing us all a disservice. I visited Tel Aviv, and was struck by how warm and welcoming everyone was, but also how people had the usual fallacies and lack of knowledge about other cultures and places.
As a committed atheist, I’ve often wondered how my family of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists can form strong bonds. The answer is in respect for different opinions, tolerance and celebration of different tastes, and encouraging children to ask questions and be given honest, thoughtful answers including “I don’t know” and “no one knows yet”.
A religion-based bond unfortunately excludes too many, fosters inbred communities, causes nepotism and stereotyping far too much and far too often, causes violent conflicts and backlash too severe to be taken seriously as an argument for a modern society.
11
In psychology there's a much simpler explanation; it's called overcompensation.
4
"These explanations for Jewish brilliance aren’t necessarily definitive. Nor are they exclusive to the Jews."
I was glad to see this within Stephen's piece. I'm not Jewish but I've known many people who are exceptional. Jews don't have special status or intellect. It may be that they have faced great adversity (they have) and survived with enough chutzpah to see that 'never again' will others suffer as they have.
7
Refreshing article, I have offend wonder how far our universe would be if god had incarnated himself in a woman.
3
The Jews are alive today for one reason - the oral law. Once the Second Temple was destroyed and Jews scattered across the diaspora, we no longer had a temple, so we create synagogues, Rabbis, and all of our written laws codified in the Bible were now transported through our siddur, Torah, Talmud, becoming laws themselves. You see it in our Haggadah, Chanukah, Purim - rituals, texts, holidays, refined in our traditions for hundreds of years.
How does this happen? Study, discussions, understanding what is being argued, the details, the legal arguments made - over millennia, you end up with a highly cerebral group who had to study to become doctors, lawyers, bankers, and merchants because they can't own land and need to live by their wits. You shape a heritage-driven culture that lives on a continuum - and hold tight to it because you are also reviled for it - and you can also lose it at any minute.
In many ways, antisemitism and persecution shaped that intellect. If the Romans hadn't sacked Jerusalem in 70 BCE, I don't believe we would exist today. There would be no urgency. We aren't special, but we are adaptable and part of that is through study that sharpened our minds.
9
A fun but really silly article. Not click bait but surely designed to get people outraged.
The fact of the matter is that money, not religion orethnicity, dictates whether or not one is "smart" (according to Stephens). Money provides opportunities that don't exist for most people. Money opens the doors to the best schools and universities. Most of all, money allows students to study instead of worrying about after school jobs or paying tuition.
But the real problem with the article is in the statistics. Stephens himself points out that Ashkenazis make up "about three percent of the U.S. population". I'd say that number is much too high but that is irrelevant. Replace every instance of Ashkenazi with "blue-eyed tall people of Japanese-Argentinian descent" and you'd probably still have a valid argument about intelligence. Drawing conclusions based on a small sample size is poor practice. Correlation is not equal to causation.
3
Interesting but rather myopic. I can rattle off a number of “ ethnic” groups that contributed substantially to a civilizations “intellect” . Where would be plumbing be without the Romans?
I agree with the majority, articles like this do nothing but further infuriate insecure small minded people
8
The 2005 article cited by Mr. Stephens was coauthored by an anthropologist that the Southern Poverty Law Center regarded as a White Nationalist, a highly unusual status for anthropologists.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/henry-harpending
27
“The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends,” the letter reads. “No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change anything about this.” -- Albert Einstein, 1955 (letter to Eric Gutkind in response to the philosopher’s book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt)
8
Excellent, albeit controversial and sure to bring out the anti-semites. As a Jew, I have always thought that we perform well 'above our weight'. I do have one explanation, based on the findings of one particular goyim-Darwin. Thousands of years of attempted culling has almost certainly led to the "survival of the fittest"; in this case, intellectually.
8
A little modesty doesn't hurt anybody. It is wrong to generalize. Given the current growth of antisemitism almost world-wide, this is yet another dangerous article.
The way I see it, what originates Jewish genius is that "those few individuals" with IQ capacity and growing up under the duress of discrimintion and persecution made the necessary extra efforts to succeed.
That's all.
There are plenty of mediocre and insignificant people in every persuasion across this wounded planet.
5
It seems to me that the jewish geniuses were most often people who broke away from orthodox religious view, that includes orthodox jewish thinking. Having a catholic vision (meaning encompassing all, not the Vatican Catholic variety) is necessary to be a genius. Questioning long held beliefs/practices is a great training for critical thinking. An environment taht encourages such questioning would produce geniuses.
3
Attributing characteristics to an entire race is the definition of racism. When you characterize Jewish people as having higher IQs or whites as being 'privileged' you're treading on shaky ground.
From the article: "how is it that a people who never amounted even to one-third of 1 percent of the world’s population contributed so seminally to so many of its most pathbreaking ideas and innovations?"
What if we applied that question to demographics which have the most crime or the least academic achievement? Most readers would protest that the question was 'racist'.
5
Gee, thanks so much, Bret Stephens. With very little effort, Richard Spencer will be able to rework your op-ed into a fine speech for the next Charlottesville tiki-torch parade.
14
The conscious mind works with language. The most brilliant minds flourish where language is a joyous toy.
8
The "2005 paper" cited by Mr Stephens is controversial and may not be the credible source Mr Stephens hoped to use. Indeed, at the end of the 2005 paper, the authors acknowledge that colleagues who reviewed their paper did not agree with their model.
16
I am not Jewish, but, was fortunate to attend a high school in a predominately Jewish neighborhood. All the educational values described by Mr. Stephens were alive and well in the hallways, classrooms, and commons areas in that school. That experience changed my life, in that, I acquired a deep respect for knowledge and, contrary to the wishes of my working class parents, went to college, and for my entire career stayed in education--both as a teacher, administrator, and professor. I still remember the faces and names of some of my Jewish teachers in the school, who took time out of their day, to stop me in hall or even showed up in my cafeteria period to both compliment me on an idea or viewpoint I expressed in class or challenge an idea or viewpoint--even bringing me a book to read on the subject. I should add in working in various educational institutions I never again experienced the kind of intellectual atmosphere in my high school.
71
I am not Jewish, but I am a naval architect and would object to the notion that ship building is prosaic or is not a benefit to mankind. However, perhaps more appropriate to this column, there are a disproportinate number of Jewish naval architects, including my first employer, who once remarked that naval architecture was the most complex and noble of the engineering disciplines because it required coordinating all other engineering disciplines to produce a result that is beautiful in its perfect fit to its purpose. And as regards aesthetics, there is an annual Rosenblatt prize for the best aesthetic student design by the senior class of naval architecture students at the US Naval Academy.
35
There's an obvious flaw in this article. There are many areas which groups of people can excel. We tend to apply the term "genius" only to the sciences. However I can think of many other ways in which the human brain can function at a very high level. Here's a few....athletics, music, cooking, art, craftsmanship, care taking, teaching, compassion, humor, writing, etc. etc. We don't think of high functioning in these areas as genius......but it is....and I'm sure each of us can add to this list. For each of these areas of high functioning I know we can find a group of human beings who do it well.
15
It's amusing that Felix Rohatyn said that the only thing of value was knowledge, yet he spent his career pursuing and accumulating wealth, I assume out of fear that history would repeat.
As for the belief in all things being impermanent, that's a core, and explicit, belief of Buddhism.
10
Genius is wonderful and has created wonderful results in medicine, engineering, literature, art and music
That said real genius in my book is acceptance, generosity of spirit and compassion
Without these traits we may be doomed as the human race. The times we live in proved this every day.
16
I am not jewish but happened to live in NY city for many years. I must say that I found my Jewish colleagues to be much more sensitive and intelligent than any other ethnic group ( definitely more than mine own ethnic friends ). Over the years I have tried to understand the reason for such differences- and my simplistic conclusion is that Jewish people ( like many other ethnic communities) have suffered immensely but more importantly they have studied, embraced, discussed their painful experiences and approach to live life by defying the odds they faced through adopting ethical and moral reasoning in their life -through their writings, focus on preservation of history & lifestyle and intellectual pursuits. Almost all ethnic communities and people have suffered at one time or other- but it is adoption of ethics and morals that liberates people to persevere and excel. My own Sikh community has gone through a lot but there is not major literary/ intellectual stream of conciousness or thought to mark and capture the painful experiences and encapsulate those lessons in an enduring code of living. We all have a lot to learn form these wonderful people.
22
I respect Mr. Stevens' thought provoking perspectives. Yet I take issue with his use of anti's - anti Semitism, anti Zionism. The use of anti as a sweeping prefix is simply not helpful. Often the same behavior or perspective (depending on what is being referenced and by whom) can be stood on its head as being a pro. Pro justice, pro freedom, pro compassion etc. By the way this is also true of the prefix in so many other contexts. Anti-Muslim, Anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant etc. We need more precise ways to refer to our challenging realities than sweeping negatives.
11
I see one contrast between the Jews and other peoples. Whereas the old testament gives an account of the conquest of the promised land, this account is balanced by frequent resort to refuge in more established civilizations, if that term is apt.
The people of the book brought their cultural heritage with them: they walked into Egypt in need, but marched out with treasure.
People often speak about 'serving the Lord', but how many really want to serve anyone or anything today?
Many Jews have been genius, since Joseph in Egypt, at making themselves valuable in service. That comes with a recognition of themselves as special and specially belonging to a chosen people.
They have been a blessing to the nations.
Unfortunately, the rule is when there is yin there is also yang.
I wouldn't expect anyone to be a better balance of welcome and unwelcome than I am, and I wouldn't want an exclusive focus.
2
I agree with Mr. Stevens. These have been my experiences as a Jewish person my entire life.
3
Without stating any position or judgment whatsoever on either this piece or any of the comments, which is not to say I don’t hold any,but it’s not my reason for commenting,it is a reality in America today that there are different standards for who it is socially acceptable or not to say what or not what about what race.My point in making this comment is that most people either don’t question this etiquette or whatever their subdemographic’s version of that etiquette is, or if they do reflect on it, we view it through our own subjective lens by necessity as humans. My objective opinion is that some subjectivity is closer to truth than others. I think it’s objective anyway, it’s complicated. Meaning a lot of times there are good reasons for it, but we can’t always get it right Nor are people going to agree on that ever.To me this element of the discussion was a lot more interesting then the piece.
2
Not a word about the misogyny that is inherent in a patriarchal religion, including Judaism. And, despite what Mr. Stephens argues, strict conformity is often stressed, particularly in orthodox branches. But, as human beings, we tend to be much more forgiving of our own faults than the faults of others. His article is a prime example.
19
The empirical evidence from recent research (see e.g. the overview in the book "Blueprint" by Plomin) is that nature has much stronger explanatory power than nurture in explaining differential outcomes across individuals. In modern societies, public education/health/support services tend to level the pitch in terms of the contribution of nurture giving it limited impact. Given all the evidence about the relative important of nature not nurture in explaining outcomes across individuals, it is no longer scientifically credible that Ashkenazi Jewish outperformance can be ascribed entirely to nurture. There must be a substantial genetic component.
7
Mr. Stephens has answered this age-old question. I suggest he expand on it, write a textbook, and teach it in grade school and in college. Then he will have achieved the goal outlined by Albert Einstein.
For all of those who take exception to the notion of Jewish intellect, consider that Mr. Stephens did not translate his postulate to mean Jewish superiority, per se. Rather, he sought to explain the sort of intellect that distinguishes Ashkenazi Jews, in particular, in both the figurative and literal sense, disproportionately to their share of the general population.
Yet, from the comments I've read, there seems to be particular offense taken by many, and even resentment by some. Why? Is it a lack of curiosity on the part of such readers, or umbrage that it is Jews who are presented as being particularly gifted?
I am reminded of an old query, "Why does a Jew always answer a question with a question?" To which comes the answer, "Why shouldn't a Jew answer a question with a question?" As Mr. Stephens points out, the propensity to ask questions is a virtue, not a vice.
Perhaps, if more of us, regardless of race, creed, religion, or belief, asked questions and thoughtfully probed for and considered answers, we'd all be better off.
Until then, we might ask why so many people adhere unquestioningly to unchallenged dogma, but that's for another column. In the meantime, mazel tov to Mr. Stephens for raising and answering interesting questions. And why shouldn't he? A little nachas never hurt anyone.
15
While I appreciate the points Bret Stephens is making, there are so many other factors (nature vs nurture) that combine in a million ways to make a high achieving adult. A bright/high IQ Jewish person can be dwarfed/stunted professionally by emotional issues that were the result of a disfunctional family for example.
So I without taking into account these "nurture" facets of a persons emotional/ intellectual development it seems hard to completely agree with Bretts assumptions or experience.
3
When I was a freshman at MIT, found that 40% of my class was Jewish. I asked a fellow freshman, a Jew, why that was the case. His answer was clear and humble, in a Jewish family, education is constantly emphasised as central to a person's life.
25
The arguments put forth are specious and anecdotal at best.
In a hundred years, I wonder will we talking about Asians in the same way? Probably not, I think we’ll just relegate them to being ‘try hards” rather than giving them an epic and grand origin story as Mr. Stephens has done.
11
I'm surprised by many of the comments here. People who are ordinarily ardent supporters of identity politics--quick to segregate humanity by race or gender or ethnicity--are suddenly made very uncomfortable by Bret Stephens's article. I suggest they remember their discomfort with his assertions the next time they unthinkingly give credence to identity politics in any of its guises.
26
Should have mentioned Dylan. Groundbreaking singer-songwriter and Nobel Laureate. Too bad great songwriters like George Gershwin and Irving Berlin were too early for their Nobels, but the recognition of Dylan has opened the path for poetry and songs to be recognized as literature. And, what they all have written is not so much 'Jewish,' but an expression of the American experience.
6
I converted to Judaism almost 29 years ago. I was raised a Catholic but after 8 years of marriage to a Jewish man, decided for the benefit of our children and my religious edification to convert. It was a wonderful decision, but I remain a questioning Jew; one who doubts all doctrine or dogma, whether religious or political. My husband is a physician, my brothers-in-law attended Harvard and my son earned his PhD at Cambridge but we should not be considered inherently smart. Instead, we honor education, which is our foundation and constant mantra. Please, respect that and don't quote statistics about IQ. It's insulting.
1937
As an abstract intellectual question, it is indeed interesting to wonder why one group of people tends to excel, in a statistically highly anomalous way, in some areas of human enterprise. It is a valid question, and it is intellectually dishonest to deny observable, quantitative facts that are staring us in the face, or to argue that such questions must not be asked because they are “racist”.
The problem is that it is _not_ just an abstract intellectual question. The people who tend to ask such questions and to spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing them invariably have some political and social agenda that they wish to promote. By floating what seems to be an idle question, seemingly nothing more than a curiosity, and using it as a basis for a newspaper column, Mr. Stephens also creates a platform for himself where he gets to discuss, in a convenient ivory-tower sort of setting, favorite political tropes of his about anti-Zionism being a mask for antisemitism, the perennial victim/underdog status of the Jewish people, etc. To me that really undermines the discussion. The net effect is that Stephens has obviously angered many of the readers without really advancing the state of anyone’s knowledge or understanding regarding the original question his column ostensibly set forth to discuss. So: the question may have been worth asking, but Stephens doesn’t seem like the right guy to say meaningful things about it.
6
Given the current climate crisis that has been caused by overconsumption of the Earth’s resources, I think the smartest and most virtuous group is the group who does as little as possible, the group who spends the least, eats the least, drives the least, flies the least and overall consumes and least and emits the least carbon into the atmosphere. Who are they? Who is that group? Who are those people?
8
Mr. Stephens, I understand your title, The Secrets of Jewish Genius, but my first reaction was it is an invitation to more anti-Semitism.
But you are right; a long history of one diaspora after another tends to make physical possessions, however wonderful they might be, less important than the retention of knowledge and religious beliefs. The countless ongoing wars with refugees of every stripe, color and creed only reaffirms that Jews are not unique in this regard. The difference is right now that many seeking safety and a new life might not succeed.
5
I have worked with a lot in IT, an intellectually demanding environment, and did not find them any smarter then the rest. The really clever folks were Americans.
Irreverence, neurosis, disconnectedness and obsessive compulsion are not signs of a high intellect. However, religious Jews do grow up in an environment where the written word is respected, many rules are learned, and it takes a lot of discipline to practice a rules obsessed religion. Growing up in that environment is the best intellectual training. Einstein was formally educated and worked with the cream of the crop, in a state of the art, at the time, university system. Being passionate with his work, brings success. Fermi however was a genius, who provided the novel math behind the Manhattan project, and so did the women mathematicians doing the actual day to day calculations. A movie was made about them. They were not Jewish. They graduated from a college for black women.
12
I am, alas, not Jewish. I say that because I was one of a scant number of non Jews in a mostly Jewish neighborhood in Queens and had mostly Jewish friends. When I was over at their houses I was struck by the number of books - they were readers ! I was a reader as well, and envied my friends who grew up in families that valued reading.
I
15
Bret's column reads like a just-so story. One could pick out many of the same cultural values in Evangelical Christianity. There are a gazillion sects, each engaging with the bible, interpreting it differently. Christ certainly focused on helping others and the Evangelicals pride themselves on family values. Yet few of us think Evangelical Christianity is the wellspring of genius and Nobel prizes.
4
Anything that separates one group from another/others has the potential to be fodder for division. In view of the the persecution history of Jews, so it is with this column.
"We" don't want to stand out. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves as better, richer, more humane. We just want to live our lives in peace and security.
In the long run articles such as this sets us apart for reasons that easily translate to and beget envy, the breeding ground of hostility. In view of the progress of humanity on the evolutionary scales it's a well intentioned mistake.
4
It seems to me that people sometimes look to their ethnicity as a means of connecting their positive traits to the greatest acts of the group while providing an excuse for their unsavory tendencies or bad behavior.
As someone of Irish descent, any skill with words I demonstrate comes from the land of Joyce, Yeats, Shaw, etc. However, if I lose it at the least provocation, it's just my Irish temper.
7
While I agree with much of what Mr. Stephens says in his column, the title may inadvertently link to some of the nastiest anti-semitic stereotypes, namely that Jews are evil geniuses who are engaged in a secret conspiracy. Most Jews are not geniuses of any sort, and there are no secrets.
Still, the persistent over-representation of Jews among Nobel Prize winners, for example, is striking. The statistics are padded with many people of partial Jewish ancestry, but the effect is still real.
From my observations, this effect may be explained simply: most Jews have strong-willed personalities with outsider perspectives. That combination is relatively rare among the general population. The natural tendency of most people is to believe what those around them believe; only stubborn strong believers persist in persecuted minority viewpoints. And personality types are largely heritable. Centuries of persecution have selected for a population that is enriched in individuals willing to struggle for what they believe.
With respect to the Jewish Nobel Prize winners, it is also worth noting that few of these are religious in any traditional sense. But they may view themselves as prophets of the modern scientific religion. That is also true of the non-Jewish Nobels, but as a population, the Jews have somewhat of a head start.
8
Interesting article and the comments of my fellow readers hit the target in a number of ways. Please note, IQ is a discredited measurement as it is culturally biased and measures only a finite set of skills. Fortunately, human intelligence is so varied and marvelous it cannot be reliably assessed.
5
I am very disappointed that almost none of the comments recognize that most girls and women have had a very different trajectory than boys and men. I am a scientist but it was a rocky road to get my Ph.D. How myopic to base an article and most of the comments on one sex (male)! Intellectual development among Ashkenazi Jews was for boys; education of girls was more limited. Jewish or not, up until recently women were encouraged to focus on family life rather than pursue a career outside the home. With little or no financial or educational encouragement, genius could hardly thrive. The second wave of feminism was about equal opportunities for women. We’re still working on that.
23
If you're going to argue the intellectual strength of Jews, then it's surprising that Stephens should focus on only Ashkenazi Jews which represent the Jews who in the diaspora went into largely eastern Europe. There are also the Sephardic Jews of Iberia along with the Jews of North Africa, Maghrebi Jews. Each of these major lines of diaspora Jews contributed out of proportion to their numbers wherever they were allowed to contribute.
Benjamin Disraeli, which Stephens mentions, was Sephardic as was Benjamin Cardozo, the Supreme Court justice, and Emma Lazarus who wrote those words for the Statue of Liberty that are currently anathema to the White House.
The intellectual strength of Jews that distinguishes them is not simply general intelligence, but intelligence of a certain kind, namely, the ability to think in the abstract. Einstein is a perfect example. Through "thought experiments" he came to the realizations that time is relative to velocity and that light is affected by gravity. Two concepts, among others, that no other physicists, including Newton, ever conceived of.
Those that have posted of their discomfort at Stephens' column on something that has long been self-evident explains why many Jews, who wish to live openly as Jews, look to Israel where there would be no point in writing this column.
9
This is not a unique situation. Look at the highest performing students in American schools and you will find the majority are kids from far east cultures. And how are they perceived by the white students of European descent? As nerds, book worms, and not cool. While these highly achieving students are preparing to become our future doctors, scientists, and technological wizards, American kids are working to become future MLB, NFL, and NBA players. Oh that may be a sterotype. I freely admit that. But watch your local news and every year the signings of national letters of intent to play sports at such and such university are broadcast. But the stars of the school, the winners of merit scholarships and other academic awards, are never celebrated. The heads of big technological corporations and the winners of Nobel prizes and stuff are most often from other cultures. And the response to that from Americans is not to compete with them. It's to hate them, make fun of them, and try to keep them out. Just like the response to the failure of the rust belt economy is to hate coastal success, try and curtail institutions of higher learning, and elect a man like Trump. Rather than follow the path of success, they prefer dragging success down. Give the more successful team a deflated ball, while keeping the fully inflated one for yourself. Thinking that will change everything. And considering yourself a genius for doing so.
12
I have a different theory about why the Jewish people are so successful. In no other ethic group, religion or society are young boys and girls promoted to adulthood at the age of 12 and 13. In all other cultures the kids wander around and are still trying to figure out who they are and where they belong in their twenties. In contrast, Jewish kids have a 10 year jump on being accepted and fully aware of the duties, responsibilities and rewards of being and acting like an adult.
8
A few points: First, the IQ data on which this author's claims were in large part generated a generation ago, when cultural bias slanted the results of IQ tests in favor of people of privilege -- white, middle (and upper) class examinees. The majority of IQ scores floating around (including Trump's) are based on test questions that have been more recently replaced with culture-fair items, resulting in a major revision and revalidation of IQ assessment tools and abandonment of the older tests as culturally biased.
Secondly, it is misguided and naive to use the Nobel as the gold standard of intellect, given the numerous factors besides "brilliance" which go into the granting of a Nobel -- for example, social and academic connections and visibility and cultural impact of the research findings. For every Nobel winner there are countless brilliant scientists and writers who do not have the "extra-curricular" advantages that the winners have had. Most importantly, this article conveys nothing short of implicit bias and ethnocentrism, with all its deeply worrisome consequences. Paraphrasing another commenter, to elevate one group (especially on intelligence, which has so many far reaching implications) automatically lowers the status of other groups. How might African American teenagers feel reading such an essay? Still suffering the devastating effects of a recent history of racism and slavery in this country, can they ever hope to compete with such a "brilliant", white race?
13
This is an unfashionable column. We are not suppposed to look at one group or another and speculate why one does so well and another not so well.
The education gap is the target of virtually all education today. The uncomfortable reality that Asian children of often poor, uneducated parents with poor English dominate NYCs most elite high schools is something to be "fixed" with revised entrance criteria.
Not much different from the 10% cap Havard put on Jewish students way back when.
I married a Jewish man. My daughter remembers the Thanksgiving her father got into an argument with his father over the Constitution, and both took out their wallet copies to dispute a fine point.
Unfashionable it may be to discuss this. But my father thanked me for "improving the family gene pool" when I married a Jewish man.
12
I'm often more chagrined by Comments made by readers than by any concerns by the Columnist. This is again the case here -- where I am moved by such statements as: "There is a moral belief, incarnate in the Jewish people,'” according to Einstein, that 'the life of the individual only has value [insofar] as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful.'"
But that does not demean other ethnic groups, despite the defensive assaults launched by many of the Comments.
Perhaps "genius" is too loaded a term to apply to Jews and their tradition. As a retired educator, I always looked for the gifts and talents of every student, but also bemoaned how our educational system relied on standardized testing, impersonal data, and rigid adherence to behavior as signs of success. And I'd still prefer university learning to cultivate genius rather than a chase after money or even one's vaguely ethereal passion.
2
The anecdote was worth telling. The rabbi lives his life believing time is too precious to do other than study the Torah, for him an act of love. Watching a football game by professional athletes only convinces him the time commitment to reach the skill level of a professional athlete is as great as he deems necessary to be a Torah scholar. As for his solution, I can imagine a coach advising a budding star athlete also interested in the Torah, to wait for the Netflix series. There is not sufficient time to excel st both.
Stephens is right in pointing to a certain intellectual tradition as a Jewish Genius, and is probably right in noting the time commitment fostered by said tradition results in above average achievement in scientific disciplines, for example. We can and should celebrate thIs Jewish Genius without quantifying it. And, certainly without relating it to any form of anti-Semitism.
I am a Jewish woman in my [very late] 70s, and have been observing and thinking about the behavior of Jewish people all my life. I find much in this very moving essay to agree with. But -- and it's a big but -- if our history of exile and vulnerability to the hatred and contempt of Gentiles has contributed to the development of high moral standards and concern for the well-being of others in some Jewish people, it has certainly not had that effect on all of us. In the face of the many instances in our own times of Jewish people acting selfishly, treating others disrespectfully, harshly, and unfeelingly, it seems patently false to suggest that the generous ethical stance expressed by Einstein is "incarnate" in Jewish people. Sadly, there is plenty of evidence that Jewish individuals are just as capable of behaving in inhumane and unjust ways as are members of every other ethnic and cultural group of human beings on the planet.
23
Maybe another reason the way Jewish minds work and think is the hereditary "disability" of dyslexia. Many Jews (including my father a phd in mathematics, myself and my 4 children ) are dyslexic. Dyslexia, a curse while growing up, is an amazing mind expanding condition which ultimately creates brain pathways enabling the dyslexic to consider and track nearly an infinite number of solutions until the problem is solved (usually by more than one unique solution).
Perhaps the "genius" of the Jews is an un-diagnosed condition which turns into a blessing. Einstein was dyslexic among many other famous Jews. The Talmud is a collection of "ways of t thinking" about situations - that is the dyslexic mind at work.
7
Strange. For a columnist whose views I almost entirely disagree with, this article seems to have an unsettling ring of truth to it.
“At its best, the West can honor the principle of racial, religious and ethnic pluralism not as a grudging accommodation to strangers but as an affirmation of its own diverse identity. In that sense, what makes Jews special is that they aren’t. They are representational.”
That’s about the crux of it, if you’ll pardon the expression.
I find this piece inaccurate and morally offensive. Clearly, I’m not the only one. Does Mr. Stephens wish to create tension between those where none now exists?
12
I have always been under the impression that Jews often try harder because they had to. Jews were not accepted so they went into fields like law and medicine and business and finance and the arts where they could excel on their individual merit rather than dependence on a network. One must often be assertive to succeed and many successful Jews have that quality. I suspect that many really successful people, including Jews, are envied to a degree by others
7
I’m not sure. I grew up in a Jewish family and a Jewish neighborhood, and I can tell you that the average person was—not very smart. I think you are talking about a generation or two of mostly Central European Jews, whose accomplishments are easily explained by the tension between the different cultures that they were exposed to. The accomplishments of American Jews are by and large fairly mediocre.
10
Ah...the sweet stench of stereotyping in the morning to go with my coffee. There must be a “bell curve” with actionable consequences coming next. I always wonder what seed was planted in Mr. Stephens train of thought to go down this path of thinking, and of course, what it will grow into.
14
This is more than disappointing. It is hubris, plain and simple. Hubris is a character flaw, the one that most often leads to tragedy. It is a dangerous attitude. If really held, keep it private.
I, as a Jew, have my own opinion of successful peoples if such exist: I place Irish Americans first for their combination of great social skills, their accomplishments in all fields of endeavor, sense of fun, great literary talent and general modesty. I can find other groups with amazing characteristics not found in great abundance in Jews. Lastly, I certainly feel proud to see Jews who are accomplished and are humble about it. Let us all be a little more humble.
12
Ashkenazi Jews have higher IQs...imagine it said instead Germans have higher IQs, Mr Stephens would be out of a job by now. Why we can say these things of a group, which ultimately are discriminatory to their members?
My grandmother came from Appingedam, a village the Netherlands with a high Jewish population, from her I learnt about Rose of Luxembourg and Aletta Jacobs ( the first female physician and suffragist leader in the Netherlands), then I found out from Noam Chomsky at the university on how we manufacture consent in this country. Jews, jesuits and others have been targeted in history not for being smart but for being perceived as the other. Mr Stephens is right that as long as a group of humans, not Jews, think differently they will be targeted by the “others”. Fortunately for Mr Stephens, he is not in the camp of those who think differently.
3
That Bret Stephens is a conservative Republican -- albeit an anti-Trump conservative Republican -- explains the smug thinking behind this column more than the fact that he's Jewish. I'm also a Jew and am horrified by the recent renewal of anti-Semitic attacks, but I'm also horrified by Bibi and the current Israeli government. One can easily make the argument that revulsion towards colonialism and support for justice for all is more intrinsically Jewish than blind support for however Israelis treat Palestinians.
20
As a Jew, I find the purpose of this piece to be quite baffling.
It could be characterized as prideful, brave, foolhardy, self-aggrandizing, boastful and pointless all at once.
The simple fact is, whether what you posit is true or not, our disproportional perceived success in relation to our raw numbers is viewed with suspicion, envy, jealousy and engender hatred from all sides. White and black, left and right all find us easy, convenient targets for blame for anything and everything.
If Jews were simply perceived as "average", our accomplishments more "modest", would everybody's hatred still be as strong?
I suppose it really doesn't matter, as that genie is out of the bottle and not going back in.
As "Borat" so hilariously sang in the film of the same name, many people want to throw Jews "down the well".
And as FDR famously stated, "I welcome their hatred".
3
Bret Stephen’s piece is not “brave.” It is flat wrong and probably does not do the anti-nationalists any favors. It would be provocative enough to examine the Jewish culture which has admirably worked to educate, support, and protect the Jewish people as a whole, but to argue that there is an innate or evolved higher IQ that we should all recognize is disturbing. The Jesuits, too, have a tradition of critical thinking and challenging assumptions. If Stephens is to be lauded for bravery here, let us be clear about the Jewish culture that takes care of their own and sometimes at the expense or discrimination of others. As a group they should be commended for their general insistence on becoming educated, but they, it seems to me, often look out for each other while excluding people of other groups. Anecdotal evidence: I once listened to my friend sing the praises of her husband who is an immigration attorney. She shared the story of how her husband refused to entertain a proposal from any other insurance agent for his firm because he was loyal to a Jewish friend. This other agent, after apparently giving an incredible offer and still being refused finally got the hint. When I pointed out that this “loyalty” might be viewed differently if I’d said my Cathlolic husband wouldn’t consider the services of any other immigration attorney other than a Catholic’s, it finally donned on her that this was discrimination, not loyalty.
11
The case is more basic than this column admits, and less ethnic in nature. For since perception is rooted in perception of difference, the Jewish sense of difference from any dominant host culture is key to an intellectual advantage.
1
Many, including me, fee uncomfortable reading the article. We are trained to reject any discussion of ethnic groups (Jews are an ethnic group with a common religion).
But ethnic groups do have common characteristics. Kenyans consistently win marathons.
Are those characteristics a result of DNA or culture or something else? I honestly don’t know.
But we would all be better served by recognizing areas of excellence in groups and trying to emulate them for everyone’s benefit than pretending that they don’t exist.
As for anti-semitism, it’s an old tragic story that repeats itself.
4
My wife (not Jewish at the time) once told me before we were married that she thought that all Jews were smart. I responded that she wouldn't think that once she had met some of my relatives. After being together for almost 40 years, she now knows better.
10
While I am equally amazed at the achievements of individual Jews, I find this thesis disturbingly racist in ascribing them to some form of ethnic superiority. Moreover, as someone who dislikes the current policies of Israel I find the conflation of antisemitism and Zionism opportunistic in this context. And although it is true, it is also disturbing to think that these great achievements are perhaps due to brutal anti-Semitism rather than the flowering of people in a benevolent place. In any case we should all admire and be thankful for these gifts.
3
Mordecai Richler said Jews weren’t necessarily smarter but history had taught them to be “more alert.”
24
What is genius?
11
We should not be discussing a theory of innate brilliance when Jews are under attack across the globe.
Wrong message at the wrong time.
31
As a Jewish woman in my 70's, I've also pondered the widespread Jewish presence in social justice causes and other achievements. To add to Bret Stephens's list, I suggest that Jewish "theology" to build community, repair the world, and consider future generations also generates achievement. In all my years of going to synagogue, I never had a class or a sermon about going to heaven; the reward - and the responsibility - are what we accomplish in this life.
2447
@Cordelia28 Yes, it is the here and now which sets the stage for productive thought and action. Broadly speaking, in Jewish theology, achieving excellence and positive outcomes for mankind's well-being through one's endeavors is not based on presumed entry into "heaven". I do have to take issue with the idea of higher IQ's among Jews as a group. E=MC2 does not explain the wisdom of allowing Netanyahu's continued political presence.
150
@Cordelia28
Strong social connection, and volunteerism is a way of life in central European communities. Protestants in particular do a lot of work for the common good. It's common there to have 600 clubs in a village with 500 people.
31
@Cordelia28 The Jewish "theology" is part of the Christian Bible. I knew several ministers in my home town whose favorite part of the Holy Bible was the Old Testament. Funny thing, they all supported George Wallace for president.
50
I can't decide which of the two assertions in this article that I find the more offensive. One is that anti-Zionists are necessarily anti-Semites. As a Jew who opposes Israel's politics toward the Palestinian people, I resent this effort to suppress my right to express my political views by labeling me as a bigot.
The other assertion is that Jews somehow deserve special consideration because they have produced a disproportionate number of scientists. This may well be an achievement for which to take pride, but it is hardly predictive morally. After all, the Third Reich was responsible for some pretty impressive engineering achievements.
Jews deserve the same protections from prejudice as any other people, neither more nor less. Israel should be subject to the same critical analysis as any other nation, neither more nor less. Let us not conflate the two.
1801
@A mind of my own
But Israel is NOT subjected to the same critical analysis as any other nation. Israel is subjected to an obsessive critical analysis that other nations are not subjected to...
There’s a reason for that, and we all know it’s name.
181
@ScottB Does Israel have a right to exist? If so, why? I'd be very interested to hear why you think Israel has a right to exist. What about Palestine? Do they have a right? If they do, is it somehow greater or lesser than Israel's right?
Countries don't just get the right to exist, they have to draw it from somewhere. If I, though military force, took over New York and declared a new country called Exampalia, would it have a right to exist? Why?
And, to be clear on my own opinion, I believe Israel does have a right to exist. Just... so too does Palestine. It is the reconciliation of those rights that I struggle with.
178
Yes, the name for that is hubris. Israel was promoted for decades intensely and without balance, uncritically...
If supporters of Israel and its leaders had ever initiated and led the conversation about the injustices for which it bears responsibility, the scrutiny would not be imposed. A singular narrative of Israel begs more.
Injustice and inhumanity demand scrutiny and action. There is no greater Jewish value. It is supporters of Israel and its leaders who should have taken the lead with awareness and concern to address injustice or suffering. Such was at the heart of its founding purpose.
36
"Jewish genius operates differently. It is prone to question the premise and rethink the concept...." That's Modern Monetary Theory, which you were quick to disparage yesterday without knowing a thing about it. Of course, it is not a Jewish construct per se but certainly has at least two important Jewish progenitors: Abba Lerner and Hyman Minsky. It represents thinking outside the box at its best.
21
I think that a problem in Stephens' presentation is that it is not specific enough. He treats "Jewish genius" as an abstract entity, whereas the immediate catalyst to its development is a phenomenon that is rather routine. A "minority" of one, of ten, of a hundred, of a thousand, or of increasingly large aggregates of people threatens the larger groups in which it is a part. The encompassing individuals, groups, communities, societies, and countries need conformity to fortify their existence and pressure the "minority" to conform. The inner tension in the soul of the "minority," which could be a single individual in many different settings, forces that minority to devote prodigious thought to justify its own existence and thus unleashes enormous inner creativity. The majorities of the different kinds don't have the same inner pressures. I don't mean to disparage them; it's "just the way it is." Furthering respect for minorities and their rights would definitely, I offer, redound to the development of "their genius" too.
10
"Furthering respect for minorities and their rights would definitely, I offer, redound to the development of "their genius" too."
Yes furthering respect, but the genius of many minorities is there and is developed. it sounds like you do not respect or see it. The genius of so many whether African American, Native Americans, Latin Americans, South Asian, Iranian, the list goes on... are the gifts that continue to enrich America with substance and values today.
5
"There is a religious tradition that, unlike some others, asks the believer not only to observe and obey but also to discuss and disagree."
To me this is the most important point made in this column. Most religions have you parrot their beliefs and teach you never to question. The Jewish tradition encourages critical thinking from a young age which is the basis for success in all aspects of life.
142
Yours I’d the key point which I have always thought.
1
@CMJ The two key words in your message were Critical and Thinking. I could not more strongly agree that the
Jewish tradition really does set its youngsters on the right pathway for all kinds of success in adult life. My three closest friends in a 76-year life span have all been Jewish. Critical thinking is prominent in their personalities--just as prominent as the FMC, the flight management computer, is in every modern jet transport.
4
As a Jew married to a Methodist I’ve had a very difficult time reconciling Christian dogma to my own way of thinking. This has not been so much because of the Jesus thing, but because of the observe and obey thing Christians latch onto. It’s almost like it’s in my blood to question everything, and it’s not for the empty sake that I could or to show others I could, but to ultimately arrive at a better solution or create a better path forward. I recognize that our minds are our work in progress and what may have worked for millennia, while certainly valued and often prudent to follow, may need to be tweaked, or even overhauled, at times to fit into the dynamics of our our lives.
7
Soon after I became involved with using computers to make music, I learned it was forbidden by academia and critics to use the sounds of acoustic instruments performed by a computer because that method was owned exclusively by traditional musicians. However, it seemed natural for me to disregard this convention because of the unique expressive and technical vistas that beckoned. An approach to life imparted by my Jewish parents encouraged instinctual creative and intellectual exploration uninhibited by irrelevant conformities while allowing my thoughts to hurtle through space at my own tempo, not slowing down for those too slow to catch on - we only live once.
13
@Michael Robinson You’d be pleased to know that an amazing Magnet school in Baltimore county has eleven magnet majors and one is digital music. George Washington Carver school of arts and science.
1
@Michael Robinson Re: "However, it seemed natural for me to disregard this convention because of the unique expressive and technical vistas that beckoned." That's not "outside the box"; it's not even thinking at all. Those "vistas" can be summarized with a single word: kitsch.
2
"At its best, the American university can still be a place of relentless intellectual challenge rather than ideological conformity and social groupthink."
A fallacious right-wing argument that Bret helps perpetuate. When I went to graduate school in Illinois, there were plenty of right-leaning professors in the social sciences. I took classes from at least three of them and I liked all of them even though I did not agree with their politics. In one semester we read both Adam Smith and Karl Marx and it remains one of the most enriching experiences for me in college. But as one of your colleagues at the NYT has often said, facts and scientific evidence have a liberal bias. Most educated Americans happen to be left of center and that is why Trump and the GOP continuously denigrate education and the better educated in our society in favor of ignorance, bigotry, and a rejection of science. Bret Stephens must have gone to graduate school in the U.S. How has that damaged your conservative beliefs? Please let us know.
69
@Alfred Yul I guess you have not been paying attention to liberal icons such as Noam Chomsky and Bill Maher, who for decades have been loudly and consistently decrying the precipitous decline of academic freedom and the freedom of inquiry and debate at our universities. I have heard countless times from international students, including those from PRC and the former USSR, that they were shocked by how totalitarian and vindictive the U.S. campus culture is compared to their naive expectations and to what they experienced in their homelands.
3
Yes, the nature vs nurture question remains...but what is now abundantly clear from fossil sequence data is that when two different groups of humans encounter one another, one of the two groups disappears. It’s our inability to see one another as equals that will probably be our undoing in the end. Articles like this one that emphasize perceived differences only hasten our journey down that familiar path.
15
There are golden ages and areas of brilliance in all cultures (e.g., French Impressionism, Bach and Beethoven, American Jazz, etc.). We should ask what historical and other circumstances nurtured this brilliance, use this knowledge in education, if feasible, and enjoy humanity's accomplishments, living own lives to the fullest in our own creative ways.
29
@Frank Knarf The facts were fairly thin. These are the facts he reported,
27 percent of the U.S. Nobel science prizes and 25 percent of the ACM Turing awards. They account for more than half of world chess champions.
First of all we are talking about just a handful of people. If he is so astounded by the fact that in spite of their small numbers they are great achievers, then how about the fact that the winners of these awards are probably about 0.000001 percent of the Jewish population. Not exactly representative of the population the entire group. Maybe there happen to be a few that are able to excel. It would be more interesting to see why these particular Jews excelled over their Jewish peers rather than ascribing excellence to the whole group. As much as Mr. Stephens may like to prop up his ego by claiming to be a member of the group, he isn't. He has not won a Nobel prize, and nor has he won a ACM award or a Fields medal. And nor have 99.9999 percent of that population. There are probably better ways to identify this group of geniuses rather than as being Jewish. There could be other traits that define them more clearly. Furthermore, although this may be somewhat risky to say, there are certainly elements of politics in the decisions as to who is chosen for these awards (not for chess I suppose). For example, I checked the Field's Award for Mathematics and saw just one person from China. It seems unlikely.
51
This is an excellent article, which could easily be expanded into a book. However, growing up Jewish in the South, I had a sense of dread finishing the piece. The cohesiveness and tribalism of some communities is sometimes misunderstood by others. And a sense of pride can be misread as arrogance. All of which I fear can easily spark feelings of resentment, and then antisemitism. Nevertheless, I do agree with Mr. Stephens, but it all scares me. Life can different away from New York City. And even there, I grew up hearing about attacks in Crown Heights.
25
It is amazing all he wonderful things we have accomplished since we bid our brothers and sisters farewell and left Africa a mere seventy thousand years ago. Some of us stopped here and there, were isolated geographically of socially for brief periods of thousands of years as we spread across the globe. Out of ignorance of our common genetic history we created myths of ethnic and religious origins that have briefly, over the last tens of thousands of years, divided us into groups based on nothing but superficial physical and social characteristics. Now we are coming see that were all one big family. Slowly.
32
my grandfather was an ashkenazi jewish immigrant who sewed hats in the garment district. one of his sons had a PhD in chemistry and the other son a PhD in cultural anthropology. his grandson, me, has one PhD in theoretical physics and another PhD in polymer chemistry. others in my family are less academically accomplished, with only MD and JD degrees. genetics or environment? i would guess it's genetics PLUS environment.
37
I would like to point out that the 2005 "research paper" pointed out by Stephens has been long since discredited as an ethno-nationalist screed cloaked in pseudo-scientific phrase.
But for some reason, Stephens seems to zero in on exactly the documents, credible or not, that bolster his agenda.
122
You missed the point but I guess that was your point
3
Mr. Stephens observes: "...These explanations for Jewish brilliance aren’t necessarily definitive. Nor are they exclusive to the Jews..."
That statement says a lot and leaves things open to a variety of explanations that are not confining, as noted. There are any number of other theoretical explanations for this phenomenon, perceived or otherwise: https://www.haaretz.com/what-makes-jews-so-smart-1.5316148 .
There was intense development of education and literacy since the time of the second temple (during their rebellion against the Roman empire). The above book speculates that the shrinkage of the Jewish population played a major role, as did--over many centuries--contact with the Islamic and Mongol empires. For several reasons, the skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic became ingrained in their culture. These were tied to their economic success as craftsmen and merchants (not from being barred from guilds) coupled with extensive networks throughout the then Middle East and Europe.
Mr. Stephens' analysis suffers from too much presentism and a focus on Western Europe. No singular theory will account for all circumstances and some of the above forces can work in reverse.
These discussions make some uncomfortable, but they will continue: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190562/ . That paper concludes: "Don't confuse racial categories with scientific ones. Don't assume that making “positive” comments about a group is necessarily a good thing."
17
Interesting commentary. Like others have said, I'm not sure of the purpose. I have always assumed that the intelligence, creativity and leadership of Jews is very much due to the cultural focus on the value of education, and on helping others and doing good in the world. I would simply leave it at that.
59
And that goes for all other geniuses from all over the world
It’s called marketing.
3
In the Middle Ages Jews in Europe were forbidden from owning property. This meant a more mobile existence, relying on skills, not property, to make their way in the world. That meant they were more likely to be engaged in skills of the mind, which today means doctors, lawyers and accountants. They had no choice but to value that which could not be taken away from them, knowledge. Yes, the interesting stories and the fact they often debate at the dinner table is real, but the origin is necessity.
33
@Bruce Maier
I agree. The reasons may be multiple and varied, but the fact is this group has shined through the ages with brilliant achievement.
I understand the reluctance to recognize this fact, but reality will not be denied because of fear or prejudice or the misguided impulse to place everyone on the same level so we don’t “offend”.
4
I wonder how many of the people commenting on the racism of this article, would also say the same thing if it was about Australian Aborigines high 'landscape' IQs?
Traditionally trained Aborigines can see things in the landscape that others miss.
Just for a start, there are more than 4 seasons, indicated by minute changes in the behaviour of plants & animals.
This close attention to detail would lead to all kinds of contributions - except these skills aren't valued by white Australia.
The cultural changes in Christians brought about by the Enlightenment resulted in Jews being able to leave their ghettoes & apply thinking skills that proved useful.
That's the 'secret': the oppressors changed.
18
@Deborah Altman Ehrlich
You made a great point. There are many kinds of intelligence. Let’s recognize them where we see them and celebrate them. We are not all the same and that is what makes the world wonderful.
3
It is ironic that the ignorance which is implicit in taking seriously Intelligence, IQ, Race, and inborn specific genetic bases for Genius, Talent, and other high level cognitive and ethical/moral qualities ... is often put forth with pride.
The reaction that such ignorance might also be partly inherited might be tempting, but equally false.
IQ is nonsense because it measures a mirage, not because the tests just need some work. The ignorance is real; we have perfected it.
8
The title of today’s column (as I write, it’s “The Secrets of Jewish Genius”) took me somewhat aback. That’s not the columnist’s doing, I’m sure, and anyway it will probably be changed for the second-day clientele as is usual, at least on the front page.
The column itself puts the theme in context well, but I understand the misgivings of those readers who feel that in this case context has been made to bite off more than it can chew.
For me, the best part is not anything to do with ethnic exceptionalism (however construed), but this: “At its best, the West can honor the principle of racial, religious and ethnic pluralism not as a grudging accommodation to strangers but as an affirmation of its own diverse identity.” So, I might add, can the East. That point, if any, is where the twain shall someday meet.
8
One of the best Jewish traits i’ve noticed personally is a tendency to be skeptical of things. It doesn’t matter what thing. That’s a good trait! It’s like what President Reagan said, “Trust but follow up!”
It tends to ensure better more reliable work which leads to success. But sometimes one has to open up and trust more with less skepticism...
A few hours ago I had the privilege to view a famous American Jewish Actress, who is rightly proud of her Jewishness, beautifully performing sign language at a Christmas Caroling Event showcasing those hard of hearing doing the performing. I was so proud of her! As a Jew, she clearly will not accept Jesus as the savior, but as a human being she shows us that she desires the happiness and fulfillment of all people. It’s hard to get more intelligent than that! She’s not selling anybody out! She’s sending out love and getting it back in return and that’s exactly how one saves the word!
16
@William Perrigo
Being skeptical about everything is not a sign of intelligence. Being skeptical about all the things that are worthy of skepticism and being optimistic about all things positive is displaying perfect intelligence.
1
When the mathematician John von Neumann (aka Neumann János) was asked what the secret was to his tremendous achievements in the sciences, he said anti-Semitism because he felt the constant need to prove himself to his non-Jewish Hungarian peers. This is not to say that anti Semitism thus has it's benefits but that a host of factors lead to one or another group's success and intelligence is just one element and may not be the most important ingredient. Sydney Brenner attributed his accomplishments to the rich intellectual climate of Cambridge where people of diverse backgrounds shared ideas and challenged one another (why universities should absolutely consider diversity in the admissions process). And I believe it was Ernst Mayr who said the rigours of the German gimnasium set him on the right course. Stephens does mention other factors but to me it seems he over emphasizes intelligence. I think the genius recipe is really not so surprising: ambition, openness to debate, critical distance, a high value placed on education and of course discipline and hard work.
10
@Ilona
I agree Ilona. The Germans had a great secondary education system, before the latter half of the 20th century. The Azkanazi are very German, is what struck me, when I came from a world without Jews into a world with many people of Jewish ethnicity, the USA working in IT. When it comes to pure brainpower though, Einstein is not really a yardstick, because he didn't prove a lot of his work with practical implementations. Enrico Fermi's work however had to work, dreaming wasn't enough, he actually had to come up with perfect math that worked. So did the mathematicians for the space programs at NASA. Their intelligence was checked for validity each step of the way.
4
I've often written that the failure of America is following the "How" of Socrates and ignoring the "Why" of Plato. As a generalist in a nation of specialists it is the mining deeper into knowledge, the almost overwhelming inventiveness of American minds that is remarkable. But our tragic failure to ask why results in using those inventions from atomic weapons to twitter, television to Instagram just because they are there, just because they are salable.
Asking Why requires the discipline and constraint inherent in Responsibility. That is the American intellectual defect.
I had never thought to notice that the famous hair-splitting qualities of both the rabbis and the followers of the torah are Platonists asking why we should use this or not. Instead we ask How it can be used and plunge ahead, often finding that the answer has unintended consequences that are negative or worse.
So Jews are "smarter" because their tradition is to ask Why, not because their brains are better. I had never thought of that. I'll buy the book.
9
The Jewish tradition is Aristotelian - not Platonic.
2
I wish the people living in Israel (no matter what their religion is) had been smart enough to settle their differences.
Technical and scientific problems are much easier to solve than human relationships, but in the end it our relationship with others than really matters.
15
All minority groups are at risk with the rise of nativism, which is completely at odds with the founding ideals of this country. It is critical that Jews and other minorities realize that the nativists will try to sow divisions among these groups and therefore that they need to work together against the hate being intentionally stirred up by demagogues to gain power. Much of the anti-Semitism in the US, particularly coming from white supremacists, is the old kind on conspiracy theories claiming groups of Jews such as bankers are plotting to control everything. The anti-Semitism associated with anti-Zionism is quite complicated and difficult to differentiate from ordinary criticism of Israeli policies. In any case, anti-Zionism does not equal anti-Semitism as it is possible to raise arguments against Zionism without being anti-Semitic. Attempts to shut down any criticism of Zionism should be seem as a threat to free speech. On the other hand, when anti-Zionism turns into anti-Semitism it should be called our for what it is.
12
I read a similar piece in the proceedings of the national academy of phrenology last may. Bret should reactivate his Twitter for this one, as it is sure to stir up some dialogue.
8
Embracing one's outsidership is available to everybody. The thing is, nobody who has made the Faustian bargain with belonging wants to give up their belonging for the forbidden fruit of being an outsider. As a very assimilated Jew, the one thing I never lost my taste for as a Jew is the anxious and smug pride of being an outsider. Not that I think I'm better, (though I have been told I have an aura of affluent satisfaction), but that there is a humble beauty in saying, "Yes, but..." and "Not only that..." and "You seem very sure of yourself, but...." No wonder gentiles can't stand me and my Jewish neighbors never even know I'm there. Fortunately, for my family, I'm orphaned.
5
The great writer Walker Percy once wrote "Why does the South produce so many great writers? Because we got beat." The play on the last word refers both to a different rhythm that permeates the American South as well as the fact that the region lost a war. Southern writers have a lot to write about thanks to both beats.
While I agree with other commentators that the premise of this article is basically bad for the Jews, I do think there is a nuance missing from any claims to a special kind of analytical talent among Jews.
From the Crusades through the end of the 1800s, the life of the Jew in Europe was unsettled. One day you could be sitting in your cottage eating dinner with your family and the next night the cottage could be ransacked and your family forced to flee. The only constant in the life of the Jew was the Book. Torah and its accompanying Talmud, Mishnah and Midrash, kept the Jews company as they relocated to safer environs.
But in all of the environs in which they settled there were constants: Jews were not allowed to own land or be farmers in most parts of Europe. While their neighbors toiled in the fields, they didn't twiddle their thumbs. They studied.
18
@NCPinATL - It was Jewish MEN who studied, while Jewish WOMEN did the housework, childcare, etc.
5
I think this column will certainly stir some angst among those who identify with the Jewish faith. I'm personally not sure whether to read this opinion with pride or trepidation--maybe an unhealthy imbalance of both. I confess that I thought terms like "Jew hatred" were out, and "hatred of Jews" was in.
I feel somewhat uncomfortable with Jews, Ashkenazic or otherwise, being singled out as "geniuses", even if you believe there are verifiable statistics free of confirmation bias.
Would a better question come from peering into the nature/nurture discussion rather than submerge it? Shouldn't we be asking why genius is so rare, and yet it surprisingly surfaces in human beings of all religions, races and regions perhaps independent of belief systems?
7
I have long noted this disproportionate contribution by the Jews in so many fields. Coming from India, I didn’t know much about Jews and frankly couldn’t tell the difference unless ofcourse if I encountered an Orthodox Jew, which would have just confused me because I didn’t see any Orthodox Jews. I also didn’t know that many people I admired were actually Jews. But when I dated a Jewish girl. I slowly became aware.
I came to a conclusion that it’s not just IQ, it’s more cultural and structural. there are patterns where a particular group excels in a certain field. Jews excel in being cerebral.
Probably because of the societal focus. I am Indian, sports was just not a priority or successful approach to life when I was growing up. Even though I excelled in sports, I dropped it all to become an engineer.
Perhaps it’s cumulative, future generations reap the benefits of the toil of the past. With Jewish focus on family, it gets magnified and important as knowledge gets passed on. Perhaps it was lack of opportunities in other fields, Jews had to focus on fields like finance, science. Now in the modern world, they are at the forefront of innovation and wealth.
Groups can over time excel in certain fields. I recently read an article on why Egyptians excel in squash. The answer was more to do with culture, critical mass and how success breeds more success.
The outsize contributions just amazes me, and I wonder why society doesn’t appreciate it more. I am forever thankful.
Vik
41
This is why Bret Stephens is still a reactionary: he believes a racial/ethnic meme.
Jews aren't smarter. IQ tests are statistics full of static and assumptions (the classic: A ghetto child can't associate cup-and-saucer because his family doesn't have "saucers").
Stephens' piece ignores the fact that Asian families are placing their kids in the top of their high school classes and in the best universities. In my town, virtually ALL of the top kids in the high school are either Asian or Jewish with the occasional White gentile. The answer isn't hard to figure out: Traditions that Stephens DOES pick up--Education and knowledge is portable and can't be taken from you.
But the piece ignores (I guess due to lack of space) the idea of the Asian "Tiger Mom" (one wrote a book about it) and the push for Asian kids that anything less than perfection is failure. Believe me, Jewish kids got that too! Both my wife and her older brother did--and both finished first in their HS classes.
But I have also found that Black professionals, too, are frequently brilliant, and I think it's because they have to be twice as good to get half as far. Every Black doctor I've ever been to was absolutely superb, since I was a child. Some of my best teachers through school, as well.
Much of intelligence is like strength. Exercise makes it stronger.
33
This is one of Bret's more brilliant columns, because it packs so many insights into a brief piece. But its spatial limitations prevent Bret from adequately exploring some other reasons for Jewish achievement.
He mentions only in passing the religious tradition of disagreement, but I would point out that since the Enlightenment, this attitude has evolved into such a willingness to question the existence of god that Jews, from Spinoza to Einstein, count disproportionately in the ranks of skeptics and atheists.
Their rejection of fantasy and the supernatural, coupled with the need to survive in a hostile and anti-Semitic world, has meant that Jews must excel at reality testing - seeing the world as it is, not as they wish it to be, even while they feel obliged to improve it.
It is ironic, therefore, that the Jews who arouse the most visible anti-Semitism, like that reported in the Times today, are the fundamentalists who are most detached from reality. They are surely just as smart as other Jews, but they make the least contribution to society at large, wrapped up as they are in their black coats, and their unending convoluted debates about the essentially meaningless minutiae of religious observance.
9
God is in the details.
One can make the observation that the muddled and mediocre thinking of Mr. Stephens weighs on the other side of the ledger from the Einsteins.
31
Ca. 1979, my rabbi, Roanoke, VA, let me know in conversation that many Jews are atheists. I was young and naive then, and hadn't known such loose definitions could be so serenely accepted. Personally, I think that Jews may be set free to use the quirkier side of their intellect because they don't have a suitable-for-framing image of their God -- as Christians do -- to limit their imagination and trap their affections. Of course, this doesn't explain the Muslims. Another mystery. You're welcome.
7
I think Bret Stephens would benefit from a close reading of "How to be an Antiracist" (Kendi). Attributing qualities to a race of people - positive or negative- is inherently racist (toward that group or another group). Not to mention that IQ tests are flawed and many people who take them suffer decreased scores due to stereotype threat. A cultural attitude of valuing knowledge over wealth is admirable, but attributing a higher intelligence to one group is erroneous and irresponsible.
22
The least convoluted explanation for Jewish achievement is that they have higher average IQ's than white gentiles. No evil intentions or conspiracy theories are required.
Biology rules, whether we want it to or not. We are largely who our genes make us, from our skin to our mental functioning. Which genes we have depends on which group(s) our ancestors came from. Post-natal environment does play a role, but not as much of one as most would like. Five decades of social engineering have taught us this.
Each of us legally and morally deserves to be treated as an individual, but disparities in group performance are not necessarily evidence of anything more sinister than natural variation.
10
I often asked the same question and can relate to the article while recognising that genius does not necessarily equal wisdom.
4
Whatever the causes of outsize Jewish achievement, three things come to mind. First even if average intelligence (whenever that is) of one group in slightly higher than that of another, that tells you nothing about any individual. There is extensive overlap. Differences within groups are greater than those between groups. Second, things change over time. America's high school math Olympiad teams, chess champions, and Westinghouse (now Regeneron) science winners were once over represented with Jews. No longer. Third, the very idea of Jewish stock is a nebulous one, especially in melting pot America. Responders to Stephens piece may react according to their own pre existing prejudices (Jews will be proud, anti-Semites and Israel bashers angry) but there really isn't much here.
15
In the first place, I’m not sure what’s proving so hard to understand about Stevens’ proposition that while one subset of and ethnic and cultural minority appears to have somehow been selected for high intelligence, generally the reasons for the whole group’s success has to be found somewhere in their social history.
In the second, it oddly reminds me of the idea that women got selected for certain kinds of sensitivities and competences because they had to cope with big dopey guys and get the kids raised.
But I have to hand it to Stephens for going anywhere near this subject, given the way that today’s big dopey white guys like to push the fantasy that black and brown folks need to be kept down because they’re dumber, and Asians and Jews need to be kept down because they’re smarter.
Myself, I suspect that that’s just a matter of wanting to stay uber alles, know what I’m sayin’?
6
Forgive me the naivete, but what is the Jew hated for? Stephens' piece shows that Jews should be loved, admired, respected. It is such a debased view of Jews that renders them objects of hate. Forgive me, but the hatred of Jews is one of the aspects of life which makes it so nearly intolerable.
15
No other ethnic group wiped out illiteracy five thousand years ago when every child had to read by age thirteen. Education is what gives "the Jews" an edge. Some non Jewish groups had to pray many times a day taking time away from education, the key to survival.
10
@Gateman - You and others are writing as if all Jews were/are male. Jewish girls didn’t have to all “read by age 13.” Until recently, there was no bat mitzvah tradition for girls. I wish responders here would write as if they remember that what’s true of Jewish males’ experience was not true of Jewish females’.
7
I wonder what Albert Einstein would say after reading this column?
7
As someone active in the arts and around my many talented Jewish colleagues, I can say that I appreciate the culture of learning and meaningful ingenuity immensely, which we inherit and build together.
As someone whose Jewish boyfriend’s parents rejected for gentility at age 23, and who experienced heartbreak as a result - I can say that a view of exclusivity and egotism on intellectual and creative accomplishments builds no friends.
Universal values such as creativity, examining questions from many perspectives, finding intelligent solutions, are values we can all strive towards, and which cannot be exclusively appropriated by any group.
As someone who values multi-faceted intelligence and creativity, I appreciate all people(s) who do too.
104
Thank you Mr. Stephens, for this very brave essay. It would have been a moving and affectionate tribute to your ancestry and culture ten or twenty or even five years ago, but it would not have required the great courage to publish it that it does now. It seems that in the blink of an eye, the security we Jews thought we had in the post-WWII West has crumbled around us. Once again, as so many times in history, we are attacked on the streets, our children are harassed on their college campuses, and we are told, as some “liberal” commenters tell you in this forum, that Jews, alone among cultural groups, do not have the right to praise or be proud of their inheritance. Let us fervently hope that this present wakening of the old hatred is short-lived and that it will slink back into dormancy. I fear it will never be vanquished forever.
85
I always say to my gentile friends..."we account for less than .2% of the world's population but sometimes feel as if we are being blamed for 100% of it's problems...and that makes absolutely no sense". So, it's nice to read a piece like this. My grandmother, an emigre from Galicia, who landed at Ellis Island in 1900, without a nickle to her name to used to say "get as much education as you can, they an never take that away from you". So, we that's really what we do. And, as a result, we succeed in many fields of endeavor.
99
Until I arrived in medical school in Chicago sixty years ago from my little Midwestern town I thought I must be the smartest boy my age in Illinois. Then I met my Jewish classmates who were obviously more intelligent than me. I was glad to find so many people I could talk to.
70
Stephen Hawking, James Baldwin, Thomas Edison, Gladys West, Shakespeare, Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, George Washington Carver, Alan Turing, Darwin, Katherin Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Michelangelo, Rene Descartes, Galileo, John Stuart Mill, Leonardo DiVinci, Goethe, Marjorie Lee Brown, Martin Luther King Jr. Frederick Douglas.
Genius, all from different ethnicities and genders. Enough said.
643
No one is doubting that genius comes from all ethnicities (certainly Jews wouldn’t doubt this, who - in being minorities - have worked closely with people of all backgrounds). A closer read would demonstrate the author says as much. But proportional to our scant population - and, yes, given the relentless history of persecution and genocide - Jewish people have put forth an outstanding amount of creative and intellectual output. What’s behind the need to minimize that? (Some of us find this sort of tendency disturbing, and for good reason.)
I’m not even a Stephens fan (I happen to like Marx) and here you’re making me defend him. Oy.
80
No one is denying that genius isn’t found in all groups of people, What Stephens is saying (and proving) is that in Jewish ppl it’s over represented, are you saying that Jews shouldn’t be proud of this? That they should keep their heads down?
24
@Katye Holland
As I recall, Turing was both Jewish and homosexual.
14
This column gets a lot wrong and overlooks a lot of history. European Jews have done very well in the European/Western world because of the Jewish tradition of teaching children how to read and write in order to read the Torah. Throughout history, being literate in a largely illiterate world has been a great advantage to Jews. European Jews were especially advantaged by this at a time when Europe was out conquering and enslaving the rest of the world. I predict that the number of European Jews winning Nobel prizes and other such intellectual achievements will decline significantly as the rest of the world -especially Asia - catches up. And this is not because of anything genetic. It is entirely because of culture. If Jews prospered in European settings because, by comparison, few European cultures valued learning to the same degree, the same cannot be said of Asian cultures. Also, Jews were prominent in internationalist movements as a response to the rise of exclusionary European nationalism in the 1800s. The irony here is that the greatest threat to this "humanistic" and compassionate image of Judaism comes from Israel, a state that has unequivocally established that, as Paul Krugman recently noted, Jews were not less inclined to oppress other people than other religions, they just lacked the opportunity. Ironically, Israel is the greatest threat to the health and well-being of the Jewish people as it degrades their moral standing and conflates itself with the religion.
399
Bret was not bragging about genetics - he was crediting culture for the accomplishments, just as you do. Point about Israel taken, but dangerously irrelevant to the topic. A great source of antisemitism today is the erroneous conflation of Judaism with the actions of the government of the state of Israel. That’s like conflating worldwide Christianity with the current GOP.
15
Agree. Without any mention of privilege, the essay embarrassed me through my Ashkenazi bones.
15
@Shaun Narine the same could be said for Christians and the US. Throwing stones from glass houses is never a very a good idea.
3
I am inclined to share B Lungren's concerns about labeling groups of people.
My wife, an educator of a Jewish heritage which iincludes some who might fit in the genius department, offers a simpler and less dangerous explanation: the Jewish tradition is a one of the book. Where reading and learning are valued, whether in a Jewish or other environment, certain kinds of accomlishments of the mind are more common than where they are not.
69
All Ashkenazy Jews were of the Diaspora. Not all Sephardi were. For Ashkenazy Jews, many occupations were closed to their participation, or, like military service, entailed alienation from Judaism, particularly the kosher laws. As a consequence, most intelligent Jewish men studied, primarily Torah and Talmud. For that they had to be literate, although only literacy In Hebrew was required. In their communities, such learned men were favored, particularly in marriage, with the resulting natural selection being for something approximating intelligence. While Jewish literacy often earned them the enmity of clerics, who otherwise had little competition in that ability, it was important distinction in communities where combat skills were not encouraged, supported or tolerated by the secular authorities. So it should be no surprise that Ashkenazy Jews test well for intelligence.
I disagree so profoundly with Mr. Stephens' politics that I shall limit myself to saying that he did all Jews a disservice by publishing this op-ed.
143
The Jews having a higher I.Q. as a group, I do believe.
But in addition to their nature, I would say there is a great deal of nurture involved. The primary element is a superlative literacy that evolves from midrash, the exegesis of sacred texts by Judaic authorities using a mode of interpretation prominent in the Talmud.
From disciplined literacy comes secular scholarship and a high rate of achievement. I would also add that Jewish people in general have more of an appreciation of life and a love for humanity.
I am nonplussed why any Jew would follow Trump into any battle, including their own.
And as Dean Martin used to sing, "Never treat me like a gentile."
10
At the dinner table, beginning when the children are young, the Jewish father says tonight we will have a debate at the table about whether children should ride their bikes on the sidewalk or in the street. Unlike the patriarchal background of many other immigrant cultures, who would be punished for disagreements, Jewish children develop reasoning skills, self-confidence and conversational abilities noticeable in dialogue with professors and in their careers. Torah study groups discuss the precise details of the old testament edicts like good accountants. Wise older men and women with a Me-too philosophy speak up, lovingly tease each other with clever and humorous expressions and form strong bonds with others in synagogues. Young people seek out rabbis in foreign lands who offer tour guides from their congregations. Non-Jewish International Baccalaureate teachers have commented that high school students like the program but dislike debating because of inexperience managing emotionalism. The Bible says God entrusted the Jews with his word. Jew people have so much to offer to those who seek to know how to resolve difficulties in families and in building a better quality of life, but it's not always easy to be accepted by these gifted people who have spent their lives developing themselves to be the best they can be.
11
What slippery thin ice we get on when we delve into amateur theories about intellectual superiority of any ethnic, cultural, national or religious group, even without the specious construct of race. Perhaps Mr. Stephens would do better to put his imagination to work on the reasons for the stories of overperformance of immigrants or "outsiders" generally, or why so many of the so called geniuses he cites were more assimilated into the dominant cultures in which they lived, rather than strictly observant religious practitioners. Or would these alternatives not serve the purpose of a warning to circle the wagons?
131
Two comments. One of them deals with intelligence. The other with historic antisemitism. Both remarks argue that the conventional view mistakes an essential plurality for a simple phenomenon.
Intelligence. The use of IQ doesn't bother me, in that it does measure something. And that something is strongly correlated with intellectual achievement.
However, I think there are two poles of intelligence of which one should be aware. Perhaps they can be described as analytic and synthetic. Or deductive and intuitive. Even mechanical and organic, but be careful here.
A long discussion would be necessary to determine if one should try to fit groups into this spectrum, and if so, where? So, let me not try to pigeonhole Jewish intelligence.
The other plurality is suggested by Hannah Arendt, in the first two chapters of "The Origins of Totalitarianism". She opposes the idea that there is an ancient unitary prejudice of antisemitism. She certainly objects to thinking of it as a millennia-old sickness.
Rather, she argues that the shifting position of Jews in society, always in isolation, and yet always vital, makes them the target for forms of social hostilities that succeed one another with the evolution of the society of which Jews are a part.
She identifies distinct classical, medieval, modern, and late modern types of anti-Jewish prejudice (my labels).
I oppose seeking spurious complexities. However, for intelligence and antisemitism, the multiplicity is essential.
12
People always ask, "why are Asians (and Jews) so very often so exceedingly successful?". The answer, as this article reminds us, is quite simple ... family, family, family.
46
Bingo ! It is everything . And no one does this better . They don’t throw out the ruts. Misfits etc. does not mean that their without bias like everyone else we mostly rearrange our bias’s when trying to think .
1
I would suggest that there is another direct cause that comes directly out of the Jewish faith, and especially the conduct of rabbis. The essence of intellectual growth, from the sciences to literature and arts and music, has to do with asking questions, more questions and newer questions then those around you.
If you ask a rabbi a question his answer is very often in the form of another question. While people who are not used to this may find it annoying, in fact it leads to something else.
To a real scientist the purpose of science is not to come up with answers. Answers are the intermediate step. The purpose of science, and of growth in any human endeavor, is to come up with more great questions as a result of one's initial efforts and answers. That is also the essence of genius.
51
I am confused by Bret's conclusion - that Jewish genius is a "terribly fragile flower." Doesn't the rest of his column put that idea to rest?
Persecution and difficulties didn't crush Jewish genius. It sounds like the biggest risk is too much comfort (material or intellectual): the importance of "discussion and disagreement" is part of Jewish identity.
As we cocoon in our own echo-chambers, it is worth remembering the importance of the intangible, and the value of disagreement.
19
@Ned I agree with you. Bret failed to uncover the second secret pillar of the Jewish Genuis: the ability to recover from defeat, no matter how devastating; to start from scratch, to reinvent oneself in a completely new capacity when something you worked for years and years suddenly goes "poof'.
3
It’s interesting - and not surprising - how uncomfortable this column is making folks. After all, if one particular group of genes predisposes to academic exceptionalism, it stands to reason that another particular group of genes predisposes to academic mediocrity/failure.
Obviously I don’t know ( or really care) either way .... but I’m open to the possibility that this could be true. Seems that many folks are offended by the mere suggestion.
19
Richard P. Feynman would vehemently disagree with this article. He was my physics teacher at Caltech.
26
Richard Feynman would vehemently disagree with any argument from authority, as yours is.
The common perception of genius is of raw brain power. It is much more complicated than that. Critical thinking skills need to be developed and deployed. With practice comes strategy, technique, and of course improvement. A community of rich traditions, culture, and example is vital in nurturing these skills. History has afforded us several examples of minority religious communities that have developed talent well above their numbers. The Jewish community has been doing this throughout its long and too often tragic history. The benefits to mankind as a whole have been profound making any ingratitude all the more ironic.
I have had the pleasure of knowing many Jewish people from school and professionally and it is my observation that their innate intelligence isn't so disproportionate to others. Their genius, simply put, is they more fully use the ability they have better than most other individuals.
23
Some of the self congratulatory posts on how proud the community is and should be is a bit disturbing to me. There are good and bad on all fruit trees. Sometimes it is waiting too late to pick them. Sure wish someone in the group had picked Stephen Miller before he fell on the ground to rot.
130
Eh, I happen to think racial and ethnic violence - like what just happened in the New Jersey kosher shop, leaving a few dead - is more disturbing than cultural pride, but hey.
4
@Gary even in a sack of the sweetest apples, you will find a rotten one or two. That’s doesn’t diminish the deliciousness of the rest of them.
5
Maybe they are The Chosen People given Inspiration above others from on High but then rejected their Covenant and were Cursed with hatred from others? Thus an initial Favor kept but a Penalty added.
Maybe if true, all Mankind should take Heed because our sensibilities toward this worldly life is fantasy or illusionary. Individual Trials, by things and circumstances— good & bad and large & small. Awaiting death’s certainty then our Beliefs.
Or maybe there was a Big Bang and some of us are still missing some pieces of brain and or aspects of mindfulness? Solving that should keep geniuses busy for a time.
I like millions of others believe God Knows Best and I hope to learn and practice what’s helpful to my salvation. There doesn’t seem to be a short cut to meeting that goal which indicates the sincere critical nature of such effort. Pretenses & frivolities are merely vanities; early lessons within the overall Course Work. Doing the Right Things are more advanced lessons. And living a monastic life is akin to skipping class participation.
Peace & Blessings!
1
Stephens accentuates the positives of one ethnic group. The writings of others like Charles Murray and Arthur Jensen emphasize the negatives of another. Sorry, but to me this looks like two sides of the same coin.
00:00 EST, 12/28
53
@mancuroc 'Tis, and that's regrettable all around.
2
The obvious question that follows is then why does Israel keep electing/tolerating Mr. Netanyahu?
I understand how Trump won in 2016 in the United States and it was not the Russians or any outside actors beyond the Murdochs who came her to propagandize the United States with conservative nonsense. The main reason was poorly educated, incurious and barely informed citizens duped into voting against their self interest.
Over in Israel I do not think that is the case.
129
@David Gregory Nostalgia for Bibi's brother. Fear that a moderate won't protect Israel from worse terrorism.
18
@David Gregory I'm afraid being in a constant state of war can have a very negative affect on a people... sadly in Israel, having spent a lot of time there myself, it seems their collective fear led them to elect an insane strong man. Hopefully that will change soon...
11
@David Gregory but then we don’t live with gas masks by our sides. We don’t have bomb sirens in our neighborhoods. We don’t live under the constant threat of death by Canada or Mexico. For most Americans the decision at the ballot box is based on economics and personal beliefs.
14
Shabbat Shalom, Bret !
10
Perhaps Bret could give his readers a run down on the particular talents and accomplishments of other ethnic groups? Why are Kenyans such great long distance runners while Jamaicans excel at sprinting? How about those masters of invention through engineering, the Scots? The poetical genius of the Irish, the musical genius of the Austrians, the exquisite palate of the French, then there's the Prussian genius for... never mind. This reader, and no doubt many others find facile generalizations about the Jews or any other group odious, and dangerous.
1087
@Leigh
"This reader, and no doubt many others find facile generalizations about the Jews or any other group odious, and dangerous."
Are they facile? Perhaps. Real analysis would tell us. But people are so afraid of this topic, labelling it "odious" for example, that such analysis would be quickly repudiated.
Why are people so fearful of seeing how we're different and, if there are in fact patterns of genetic or cultural origin, what is the mechanism behind them? Perhaps, informed by this new understanding, we could all be as fleet of foot and poetically musical as we wish.
And if there are no such patterns, what is behind the illusion cited by the author?
Consider that facts don't change by our refusal to consider them; they are regardless. We gain nothing therefore from willful ignorance. By looking, we may find vastly expanded horizons for ourselves and our children. Or, at least a new way in which we fool ourselves.
...Andrew
48
@Leigh
But Kenyans are great runners.
Different ethnic groups do excel at different things.
That is a truth.
Denying an individual opportunity based on ethnic background is odious.
25
The predictability that the "most liked" comments would be the ones trying to rationalize/explain that anti-israel had nothing to do with anti-Semitism is what frightens me most about the "new left"
43
@joey8
Oh stop with the sweeping generalization.
SOME anti-Israel thought is based on Israeli policy.
SOME anti-Israel thought is based on anti-Semitism.
It's not simplistic.
15
The torturous, torturous anxiety!
7
without empirical data this just looks racist. you cite 1 metric. this is the definition of no context.
96
@James brummel the one study he cites has been discredited on its merits (and was co-authored by an avowed white supremacist)
9
If you have any doubt about the concluding paragraphs of the article, see the hateful comments it provoked about Bret Stephens on Twitter today. The West is not at its best.
29
A good question is how an article so dripping with racism and danger, based on anecdotal examples and one wordy apparently non-peer-reviewed apparently unpublished paper finds its way through the editorial processes of all newspapers, The New York Times, ends up accepted. The inverse of this piece is other groups are not, on the whole, as smart as Ashkenazis - WOW!
319
@RJH
This response and others so missed the point of the column. And the majority of responses to the column clearly show how Americans’ “otherism” fear will ultimate be our demise.
6
"to see the absurd in the mundane and the sublime in the absurd".
This is very much a description of Larry David, my favorite comedian of all time.
He is a jew, a BIG jew [Curb reference].
That being said, this Muslim doctor, trained by a Jewish doctor, still believes that "talent is universal, opportunity is not".
Chutzpah!
120
Be careful when you discuss IQ Bret; you can get in trouble for that.
12
IQ tests have class-based results and Jews are predominantly middle and upper middle class. (The reasons for that are not indicated--merely the IQ accomplishment. As has been said an IQ test often measures the desire for a high IQ--one way the test is quite class-bounded.) Mr. Stephens, always interesting, is a little loose and reckless. Jews have no more hold on originality than any other group in the arts and sciences. And Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism? These are unhelpful, perhaps even dangerous, canards.
45
@mary i’d suggest you look at the Nobel prizes awarded in the past century or so and let us know what you find.
10
My husband was raised by impoverished physically and mentally broken holocaust survivors , first in the slums of the Bronx and later in a crime ridden neighborhood in Brooklyn. I was raised in a crime ridden neighborhood in Manhattan. And my parents had very little money .And yet he became a surgeon and I became a social worker.and our daughter went to Harvard.It’s not because Jews are middle class or upper class . Plenty of poor Jews accomplished remarkable achievements in so many fields despite the many quotas prejudices they encountered.It’s because Jewish traditions for the last 2000 years was about scholarship, scholarship and scholarship in the old country mostly Jewish scholarship and in America often secular scholarship.Teaching your children is a commandment. Not a suggestion.
11
Doesn’t the name Israel mean: “He who argues with God”?
What other religion teaches you to argue with God?
20
Close - it means to wrestle with God as Jacob wrestled all night with the mysterious man (Angel?) in the book of Genesis.
4
Funny to find it mentioned here, that "the only permanent wealth is what you carry around in your head." That, almost verbatim, is the single most repeated advice I was given growing up. It came in handy for this Muslim Arab.
184
I would agree generally, but I find your explanation incomplete. As with most human traits intelligence results from a mix of nature and nature. Certainly a culture that rewards curiosity and argument would nurture intelligence. But what about the natural part? Either God gave it to Jews, or it evolved over generations by natural selection according to Darwin. Besides geniuses I think it's worth pointing out there are Jewish idiots and they too are representational.
5
This is essential racism and the author can't see it.
183
@Alan, just because it's "racism" doesn't mean it's not true.
The results of IQ testing mirror the behavior and achievements of those ethnic groups in the wider world. Groups that have high average intelligence demonstrate it in the real world through contributions to science; groups whose measured intelligence has a low average do not, despite society's efforts to bring them up to par.
9
Self-congratulatory prejudice is still
prejudice.
Stephens should know better, and so should the New York Times.
788
If you replaced Ashkenazi Jew with white in this column, the author might be fired and rightfully so. This is an ethnocentric viewpoint with nothing to say of the anti-zionism = anti-semitism lie that is repeatedly told. What were the "Ashkenazi" Jews doing when modern medicine and mathematics were being developed by the Arabs in Baghdad - the "cradle of civilization"? Hanging out in caves in Europe? Oh wait, Baghdad was the place where jews (obviously the Sephardic not so smart ones) thrived in those days. This column says so much about what's wrong with any kind of supremacy.
178
Except we were never in caves in Europe. We were your neighbors before the Romans evicted us.
18
Fascinating!
3
Errrrrr ...... Bret, this is not the Jerusalem Post, it's the New York Times.
Or perhaps you will be writing about the attributes of the other ethnic groups? I will not hold my breath.
91
If the neo-liberal catastrophe that Felix Rohatyn visited on New York City is the product of high intelligence, I’d rather have some dumber people in high places.
8
Jews are just as much smarter than the rest as some people said whites and and men were smarter than blacks and women. The TESTS are rigged to their experience base. Test a Jew [or any westerner] with a question about cricket [vs testing an Asian with a question about baseball or US football] - and they will all DROP in IQ scores. Ethnically 'segregated' groups tend to 'excel', just like a child will learn A language FASTER than if [s]he was to be in a 2-3 language environment. But in the end will know 2-3 languages better than the 1-language person. THIS column is a pass to create and raise antisemitism. STOP with it.
11
The press has misrepresented the Black Hebrews as anti-semitic in general. The perpetrators of the hate crime in Jersey City do not represent the Black Israelite movement as a whole.
See
https://www.jta.org/2019/12/11/united-states/one-of-the-jersey-city-shooters-was-a-black-hebrew-israelite-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-movement
1
Calling attention to anti-Semitism as well as analyzing Jewish genius, originality of thought and amazing accomplishments is, of course, welcome. Jews are more and more imperiled and it scares me horribly.
George Steiner said he thought one reason Jews are hated by Gentiles is that they are jealous. George and you and I (and many others!) know that it's much more complicated, but I liked that thought as a philosophical opening to a door when discussing anti-Semitism, hatred of a particular people, and hatred in general.
I think what is more urgent now is to protect Jews, while we are in the midst of an increasingly psychotic President and those in his grip. It takes no leap of the imagination to know
that this is worse than the leadup to Hitler's slaughter and world war because we are also in the midst of a planet threatening climate crisis.
Protecting Jews means a huge increase of law enforcement presence, dogged surveillance and prosecution of white supremacists, and heavy, consistent media coverage that will let them know they will not be tolerated if they act on their hate.
5
‘The Secrets of Jewish Genius’. This title makes me nauseous I normally would wanne read what is being in the name of my people, but I just can’t for It is sickening.
37
I’m with you!
1
What’s next, NYT Times? An op ed on the pros and cons of eugenics? This is really going too far.
But I guess my opinion counts for nothing because I am just an Irish Catholic (lapsed). And we all know the Irish never get up to much except but drinking and fighting. Runs in their blood, don’t you know.
So offensive.
215
So what’s a bunch of Nobel Prizes in literature?
5
@Passion for Peaches
Ah the old slippery slope "argument" rears it's head, followed by a claim of victimhood, topped off by being offended. Clearly we read different articles.
5
It is amazing that Jews are so superior intellectually, and yet Benjamin Netanyahu is the Prime Minister of Israel.
95
He didn’t say all Jews. He referred to Ashkenazi Jews. I’m not expressing agreement with Mr. Stephens; I’m pointing out your misunderstanding.
2
Just because it says nice things about Jews doesn't mean it isn't racial pseudo-science. This garbage has no place in the country's paper of record. Would you seriously entertain publishing a piece like this about any other racial or ethnic group?
494
@Christopher Would you be just as critical of an article that dares discuss disproportional successes of certain groups in certain types of athletic activities? Or an article that discusses varying responses to medicines observed among different ethnic and racial groups? The diversity of our species is a precious gift that needs to be studied and celebrated, not ignored or erased.
10
Yes. Asians.
Facts don’t care about your feelings.
Recognizing intelligence among different cultures and ethnic groups, backed by data, is not pseudo science simply because you find the topic off-topic.
11
Unfortunately, it is exactly this pride in and flaunting of Jewish"genius" and accomplishment that likely motivates just the type of ignorant, angry, vengeful resentment that seems to be manifesting itself in the current wave of anti-Semitic attacks.
38
Good lord.
Jewish genius is an artefact.
The Jews spoken of are well booked Europeans who studied hard.
Crazy.
And then he switched to anti Semitism.
Well those he complains are the great great great grand children of Marx. The genius.
15
Why does the headline speak of secrets, which just adds to ethnic and religious misconceptions about Jews and Judaism?
26
@Alan J. Shaw
It's sort of an anti-Semitic trope isn't it? Suggests a cabal of people with secret and special powers.
1
Terribly fragile, agreed, both in fact and in perception. 100 years ago the eugenics "science" was used in this country to "prove" that 40% of Jews were morons. (Italians and Hungarians, too, btw). This moment in historical/cultural perception is nice and may it end gently when it passes.
11
@Ernest Woodhouse
I guess the author forgot the universal maxim that Jews are not allowed to take pride in their ethnic heritage. Thanks for the reminder.
2
That Jewish practice holds observance and dissensus in equal standing is the only worthy idea in this stunningly foolish oped. Nearly every word serves as delicious ammo for the worst antisemitic tropes. Thank you, Bret Stephens, for introducing millions of readers to the insidious idea that Jews think they are superior beings. If I were a neo-Nazi, oh how I’d relish in this proof that the clever Jews wield secret control over every aspect of public life.
158
@Carla Perhaps Mr. Stephens wished to provoke that reaction.
Ironic. Making lists of special accomplishments and racial wink wink cultural correlations to genius is exactly what the Germans used to do before WW2
126
Interesting concepts...but it seems that Jews who have decided to try and succeed within the structure of society do succeed.
What about those Orthodox Jews who step away from the mainstream...what is their average IQ?
Might it be the academic pressure placed on mainstream Jewish children by parents help them succeed?
18
Jews apply themselves with focus and persistence in order to “tikkun Olam”, to heal the world. That is the secret to their successes on the world stage. This is not far afield from the democratic striving for a more perfect union. This is why Jews have thrived while contributing to the American experience, starting before our revolutionary war.
16
Do the Jews have any plans to defend themselves?
Or maybe just to lament their fragility—and when a gentile police officer takes a bullet for them nominate him (or her) to the “Righteous. “
I’m not saying that’s wrong, but the Jews need to respond with a bit more vigor this time.
Jews are very big on the First Amendment, but they might get as much use from the Second Amendment.
6
It is true that many Jewish thinkers have advanced whole fields of thought. I have read that deep enculturation, driven by cognitive "demons," or automatic programs, have helped develop many Jewish people's brains––because of their social treatment, they had to develop complex modeling and survival strategies. However, as any genius knows, having achieved that level of thought, you are no longer a member of any group. In fact, you may be ostracized like Spinoza, never understood like Einstein or destroyed like the Jews were by Nazi Germany.
2
Ashkenazi Jews? What are the Sephardim, chopped liver?
101
@Bailey T. Dog
Sephardim just produced Maimonides, the greatest Jewish thinker of all time who understood God himself.
The Ashkenazim got Einstein. He was good at arithmetic.
4
Bret conveniently leaves out the IQs of the Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. Why is that Bret? And what about the IQs and accomplishments of the Ashkenazi Haredi Jews? Bret?
What Bret didn’t say that was that Jews only flourished once they escaped the control of Rebbes and Rabbis. This allowed many Jewish men AND women to excel.
6
Read “success” for “anti-Zionism”
2
Are you serious NYT?
These types of articles were written about 100 years ago(albeit claiming that the Aryan race was genetically superior to others)
No race or ethnic group has any monopoly of intelligence based on current scientific evidence.
There are smart Jews and not so smart ones ,just like every other ethnic group.
The beauty of the United States is that it allows ideas to grow and flourish and hence you have so many Nobel winners here,many immigrated from elsewhere.
The author should perhaps dwell on this rather than come up with ‘Jews are smart’ theory.
183
I dunno. If Jews, as an ethic group, are smarter than average, then it follows that other ethnic groups must be dumber than average. Pray tell, which groups are those?
82
@Lisa
Religious fundamentalists and many people who live in the South. :)
8
Sephardic.
3
Let me add one of my favorites to your pantheon: Baruch Spinoza. But what about very accomplished but abusive Jews like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffry Epstein, Les Moonves? How do you explain them?
37
Yes indeed. If Bret is going to crow about a few select Ashkenazim (and conveniently leave out the Sephardim and Mizrahi Jews) then he should also note the bad Ashkenazim apples as well (Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Jeffrey Epstein, etc, etc, etc).
7
Just a comment on I.Q. tests. It's worth noting that based on the testing of American soldiers entering the service in World War I, it was concluded that Jews as a group had sub normal intelligence. Of course, the test was made up by upper class goys to show that they were intellectually superior.
15
RE: **Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews.**
Proof please.
22
If my jewish brothers are so smart, how come all of a sudden they become brain dead when it comes to solving the problems in the middle east?
42
@Alan Frank
When two peoples want the same land, the problem is insoluble.
Even Jared Kushner failed./s
2
It takes 2 to make peace.
10
@Alan Frank it is impossible to make peace with someone whose goal is your destruction.
4
It is clear that the rest of us should be able to learn something from Jewish success, and also clear that this success transcends simple IQ. Because there are far more non-Jews there should be more very intelligent non-Jews but still Jews excel. Perhaps we should all be Jews?
2
Anti isreal is not anti-semitic.
36
I completely disagree - one can criticize the State of Israel and its policies but if you deny them their right their homeland then you are an enemy of the Jewish people and the word for that is Anti-Semite.
See this video by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Anti-Zionism is the new Anti-Semitism
https://youtu.be/Ww4S4a3-J4c
6
New York Times is endorsing eugenics.
Will the next opinion piece list every race by IQ level? I’m stunned.
251
You shouldn’t be.
Anything is acceptable these days as long as it generates clicks.
2
This is so offensive. This is what white supremacy looks like in the Jewish world. Stephens’s writing about the presumed and unquestioned superiority of Ashkenazi Jews is longstanding and so tiresome. It highlights European contributions to culture and scholarship while invisibilizing Mizrahi Jewish communities. Is this really an appropriate position to share through the New York Times?
301
this opinion piece is just as racist as any piece that attributes broad sterotypes to any group of people and the author should be pilloried for it.
656
I'm sure there are many explanations for the outsize intellectual and artistic achievements of the Jewish people, and not just Ashkenazi Jews. My personal conviction is that the reasons are cultural rather than genetic, led by the religion's emphasis on universal literacy and philosophical debate. The portability of knowledge as a survival tool is a strong contender. But I would point out that there were few Jewish giants of Western civilization before the Enlightenment, and the steady migration of Jews into the towns and cities from the countryside. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the largely urban Jewish community of the United States remains the most liberal and Democratic predominantly white group in our country.
52
@GV
"there were few Jewish giants of Western civilization before the Enlightenment"
Maimonides (1135-1204 CE).
Jews were excluded from interacting with the wider Christian society until the Enlightenment changed the attitudes of Christians!
Until then we either lived in ghettoes or converted.
4
Perhaps you will reconsider the effects of genetics when you realize that the most intelligent Catholics were made priests and their DNA was then terminated.
3
After reading through the article, "Give one ball to each side" seems too simple but so right. This world continues to demand complexity and wrap itself up in old baggage. We could use some clear eyed vision and a lot less obfuscation.
6
@richard wiesner
Yo, the "one ball" story is a joke.
2
@LarryAt27N only if you can’t imagine it as the solution to stop the competition.
@LarryAt27N
But Rabbi's can be wise guys, right?
Many define a time, but it could be said that Einstein, Kafka and Freud describe the 20th century.
16
@Robert
Frank Lloyd Wright, Georgia O'Keefe, Thornton Wilder, and Orson Welles also describe the 20th Century. All gentiles from Wisconsin. A disproportionate percentage that it is absurd to give too much meaning to.
1
Cultural distinctions do not identify hard distinctions of one group of humanity from another, but untapped potential that exist in everyone.
10
@Al
Excellent observation.
The Jewish people have been reading and writing for thousands of years. They were doing that before the rest of us knew there was reading or writing. The Bible is as much a history and literature book as a religious document.
The Christian Testament writes that Jesus at 12 went to the temple in Jerusalem and astounded the priests with his knowledge. (We’re talking about a 2000 year old Bar Mitzvah.)
To my mind if people are descended from folks with such a long history of literacy, it would be astounding that many if not most of them weren’t high achievers.
59
@Joan In California
The Hebrew language and literacy first appeared about 2000 years later than the written languages of Egyptians and Arab Sumerians.
7
I'm curious to know what prompted Bret Stephens to write this. I liked the piece about impermanence and the embracing of intangibles as of most value. I agree that a history of the need for constant survival skills to navigate an often hostile world, also invited the Jewish style of creative problem solving and innovation.
.
While the article was well written and informative, I believe these times call for humility and an accounting of one's community's responsibilities, rather than the self referential superlatives and supremacy this article enacts. This itself can provoke resentment and misunderstanding. Such reminds me of the mistranslated idea of singular chosenness. A more constructive and much needed article would bring attention to the unique value each people and religion bring to American society.
.
Many American Jews have little access to the critical distance you reference and the ethics and tools that come with it. This is due to rampant assimilation and the shedding of Jewish identity that long kept Jewish people feeling separate and aware of the values that sometimes made us different.
.
People in power like Stephen Miller and Jared Kushner, both of Jewish roots, have betrayed the legacy and Jewish values you describe here, inciting hatred by conforming to the worst of America.
.
My father was a Holocaust survivor and refugee. Yet, I'm unclear of the connection between the article and its ending... I would like to better understand.
228
And this is a sensitive and intelligently written response. Thank-you.
8
@JS
"I'm curious to know what prompted Bret Stephens to write this."
I guess NYT readers can't help but feel triggered if an opinion piece isn't somehow bashing Trump...It's such a rare occurrence.
1
I have much admiration for the Jewish culture’s emphasis on education and hard work. Although it’s not the primary focus of this article, I also appreciate that Stephens is not shying away from the reality that people of various backgrounds and races have starkly different IQs.
Too often, journalists with the ultimate goal of seeming woke, avoid any controversy at all costs, particularly as it pertains to possibly offending the Left on issues of race and IQ.
I would love to see more honest discussions on the issue. Tackling disconcerting truths is the true mark of a liberal thinker.
39
@Mark Race is a social construct. IQs are also rather social. There is no test that can test for raw intelligence that gets away from using language, etc. So left alone as a child on a desert island by themselves and then later discovered as an adult who is "smart" (from a survival perspective) - how do you measure this person's intelligence?
The problem is assuming IQ is the same as intelligence. I know smart people who do poorly in tests.
There is no simplistic worldview of the sort you allude to - the performance differences within groups is greater than the differences between groups.
4
@Mark
IQ is bunk. It doesn't measure intelligence, but literacy. Prime example: if you've studied arithmetic and geometric sequences, you will score highly on the number sequence questions. If you have a good vocabulary, you will do well on the word parallels.
My IQ was in the top 2% when I was younger, but some school friends of supposedly average intelligence really outperformed in real life.
And BTW, Jewish outperformance is cultural. Catholics are probably the second most successful cultural group, and what both have in common are emphasis on good education and service to the community.
2
@Mark Many years ago, I worked as a substitute at an Orthodox Jewish school. I observed a class of Jewish boys debating scripture in a way that most Christians and other groups do not. Their critical thinking skills are highly developed and encouraged. The Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah also require high level preparation. Having invented the sabbath, that day allowed for education and later they were the first group to encourage public education.
But, as an African American woman, I am also well aware of how what Mark and others say here biological IQ could be skewed in a negative way, historically. Having done research, I see how assumptions about the intellect of blacks and other groups have brought great damage - from black men seen as not "bright" enough to be quarterbacks, to the help of black doctors being dismissed.
Such studies as the "bell curve" would certainly not help me as a college instructor. Do I encourage some and condescend to others? Do I dismiss the many "exceptions"? I have admiration for Jewish culture, and I think we should adopt more of the educational rigor they traditionally encourage, but I would never be in favor of promoting such racial/ethnic studies as Mark and others espouse. It would only internalize a damaging sense of inferiority. After all, as Mike Rose wrote in his classic "Lives on the Boundary," students rise to the level of expectation.
5
What a beautiful and thought-provoking piece.
Thank you, Bret.
17
The soccer anecdote made my day. Encapsulates my feelings about competitive sports perfectly. Me, a secular Protestant pro-Israel / pro-Palestinian socialist / capitalist.
6
The latest example of anti- semitism/anti- zionism is the accusation that Israel's response to the thousands of rockets and burning drones from Gaza was disproportionate. It begs the question how many Jews must be killed, wounded or children traumatized before Israel may defend itself with the world's blessing? Yet, Hamas and other terrorist...yes terrorists, storing and launching rockets from residential and school properties is usually not mentioned. Nor its holding its citizens as hostages and hiding behind their own children. Movies reintroducing old anti-semitic name calling, and song lyrics referencing Jews in negative ways are not only not noticed much less condemned by much of the media and press. The democrats couldn't even condemn a noticeable anti- semite among them. The ignorance of history on college campuses is mind boggling as so called professors and some students support BDS. I once asked a student if he didn't think the prior wars and terrorism had anything to do with the checkpoints, and he actually answered what wars!
53
@Harriet Katz Murder begets murder. If your foundation was to annihilate or push the "other" into the sea, what could you expect. Children will continue to die until adults learn to share the soil and the water. There is no other way to peace.
11
@Harriet Katz
Or instead of building a segregationist nation-state that doles out rights and privileges based on race and religion, Israel could build a unitary state with equal rights for all and special privileges for none.
If South Africa and the US can do it (or attempt it) then so can Israel. What's wrong with one person, one vote?
2
@Mrs. H Your response is a little confusing. It was the Arab world who stated it would push Israel into the sea. I suspect you are young and do not know that it was not until Golda Meir's administration that Israel responded to terror attacks. Years of passively not responding did not stop terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Jews. Bottom line hopefully the "adults" from dysfunctional societies will learn to stop killing in lieu of providing their people with better quality of lives.
7
Interesting piece. Unless I overlooked it, there are family norms and traditions that drive many jewish children. Study, do well on exams, learn, excel and get into a great college, become a professional....
Here are two additional very informative piece to read.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/study-stretches-past-tiger-mom-theory-to-probe-student-success-among-ethnic-groups/article17923536/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/the-chosen-few-a-new-explanati
I thought that every student had to review their homework assignment every evening b4 bed with a parent. And be quizzed in preparation for the next day and be praised for doing well in school and have some privilege withheld if grades weren’t very good.
Not allowed to watch tv (then black and white) until all homework completed and not allowed to go ride a bike,etc.
I thought every parent went to every parent teacher conference and school open house.
Traveled to colleges to see if there was a good fit. Worked a second job to help pay for college and discourage the child from working in college because it would detract from studying.
That was and perhaps is the dominant Jewish culture. Warts and all.
74
They can take your possessions, your family, put you in a prison, but they cannot take your mind. Question question question everything. I don’t know but I was brought up that way. Perhaps my Swedish Great grandmother who was Jewish put extra value on that, but not seeking constantly for the “truth” or the current “truth”was our duty.
16
l would offer a hypothesis that the 'secrets' of Jewish Genius are rooted in a combination of nature and nurture. They have a cultural framework that encourages accomplishment and intelligence.
They have a history that has, to put it bluntly, winnowed out those who couldn't see when it was time to take cover or get out. If the survivors of the winnowing process seem to include a higher proportion that seem exceptional, is that really a surprise?
Still... This seems simple enough to be true, but it's speculation and not necessarily useful at that. How would you test it?
High IQ is but one measure of potential, and one not exclusive to Jews. There are so many variables that go into what makes a human, that trying to ascribe to a particular race or religion as supplying something different is perilous. From here, do we go on to talking about how black people have rhythm or are natural athletes?
Stereotypes are a mental shortcut, with enough seeming truth to be seductive - at the risk of blinding us to the actual persons that we try to fit those stereotypes around. Let's flip this around:
Why is stupidity, hatred and intolerance so robust among whites?
20
Uh, let’s not blame the victims and suggest that the Holocaust “winnowed” the smarter Jews from the less intelligent ones. There is no factual basis for that.
8
@Larry Roth Who committed the Ruanda genocide? Who is currently persecuting the Uighers? Who did it to Tibet?
Who sold the African slaves to the slave ships?
Not white people.
Why are negative attitudes towards their own group so robust among white liberals?
13
I am a Polish Catholic married to a Ashkenazi Jew.
My husband wants to leave the world a better place. He is not concerned with Catholic guilt/sin/judgement. He puts forth his energy and intellect into his passion, which is curing childhood cancer. His siblings (pretty much his whole family) are also high achieving. It truly is amazing what this small “tribe” has accomplished throughout history.
88
This calls to mind the old semi-joke. Half "ha-ha" and half "uh-oh"
when discussing a line from the Hebrew Bible.
Paraphrased, "You are my Chosen People".
The modern response, "We wish You had chosen someone else" for all the trouble that has rained down on our heads since.
14
@LarryAt27N
God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son.”
Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on.”
God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?”
God say, “You can do what you want, Abe, but...”
“Next time you see me coming, You better run.”
Abe say, “Where you want this killin’ done?”
God say, “Out on Highway 61.”
— Bob Dylan
3
Rising antipathy to its Jews is a sure sign of weakness and decay in a country - that it’s “jumped the shark”.
So much has been written about the awful cruelty and evil of the Holocaust, and with good reason. But it was also just plain stupid and deluded. All that destruction but did it solve _any_ problems the Germans had? No, it just created more trouble for them.
So now we have rising anti-Semitism in Europe, which of all places should know better.
The U.S. has gained so much from having been a refuge for Jews, as noted in the article - Nobel prize winning science, contributions in the humanities- the list is endless. I hope recent incidents in the US are isolated events — if not, it’s a bad sign, not just for my Jewish neighbors but for the rest of us, too.
29
I fear that if something goes catastrophically wrong here, the “ stab in the back” theory will reappear. And Americans are just as capable as everyone else in history to think and do the unspeakable.
13
Huh. I would have never suspected someone who is otherwise so disdainful of science to easily accept such a flimsy evolutionary argument that Ashkenazi Jews were selected to be smart.
It makes me seriously concerned that Stephens buys into pseudo-intellectual arguments couched in evolutionary language about other ethnic groups that tend not to be so flattering.
295
@gh
Your problem is the word 'smart'. If it was 'taller' or 'curly hair' it wouldn't bother you.
Humans have always selected mates on traits admired by that culture.
If you want an experiment in human selective breeding, consider the Maoris.
When Pacific islands became overcrowded, people would be selected for their strength & endurance & sent off in catamarans to colonise the next uninhabited island.
It was a one way trip.
Those who made it to Aoteroa are physically larger than other Polynesians, with a tough culture to match.
9
From the NYTimes of January 19, 1988..."Did you ask a good question today?" https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/opinion/l-izzy-did-you-ask-a-good-question-today-712388.html
3
Many years ago when a budding anti-semitic acquaintance of mine argued that Jews ruled the world, I answered, "who better?"
Many might consider my response, itself, anti-semitic. But having lived and worked and played, for many years, amongst many Jewish friends, acquaintances and colleagues, I have come to deeply respect not just their willingness but their delight in ad nauseam argument with their 'jewish brethren' about any topic whatsoever. After all, just look at Bret Stephens' hesitation to acknowledge the genius of Karl Marx.
My problem with Stephens' column, though, is that he goes from indisputable facts (i.e., scientific evidence) of the 'genius' of the Jews to an elegiac, almost poetic reflection of the consequences of that genius to ... well, boo-hooing about the current uptick in anti-Semitism.
Sorry, but to me, Jews are the one people in this country who will never, ever have to fear about their status, let alone their safety. At least not when compared to Muslims or "illegal immigrants" or the black and brown of this country or .... So please, please, please stop your boo-hooing, Bret, and rely on your power to help those who have a whole lot more right to boo-hoo than do you.
28
@J. Cornelio
"Jews are the one people in this country who will never, ever have to fear about...their safety."
I guess this commenter somehow missed the stories about synagogue shootings and swastika-paintings.
50
I'm pretty sure that Jews are of average intelligence. But they have two legs up. The tradition of Talmudic scholarship exercises the ability to make fine distinctions. It is practice, not superiority, that sets us apart. It's no different from those who excel at sports. Compare women's disproportionate numbers as school teachers and veterinarians and blacks' disproportionate numbers among social workers and basketball players.
Moreover, outside Israel, Jews are the minority, which gives them a perspective on majority factions. Jews are trained in analysis and are not born to one side or the other. And thus the unfounded appearance of superiority.
14
As a Christian woman who was married to a Jew for nearly 60 years, I find this column incredibly unsettling. The idea of labeling an entire religion (or race or gender) as this or that leads to nothing good...and often to things that are very bad. Where do we take this? Jews are smarter and therefore a bigger threat? Groups that have not won many Nobel prizes are stupid? And since when have we decided that IQ test scores are true measures of intelligence - a trait difficult to define in any case. When my husband was a boy, he was often chased down the street by neighboring children yelling "Christ Killer" at him. "Smarter" is just another label. I am amazed that the Times published this.
4752
@B Lundgren
Ouch, so you seem to miss the point. The Jewish story is that of the perpetual outcast who, as a result, has a different perspective that enables a marginally higher IQ to achieve significantly great things. You could see this as evolution; Jews had to be smart to survive.
As in any story, where you stand is where you sit; you cam make this a parable for all humanity or you can see this as hubris. It’s really your choice.
385
@B Lundgren
I agree. What did this column actually say and for what purpose? First of all, I question his data and his conclusion.
I've heard his conclusion many times that Jewish people have a larger amount of talented people than other groups. I don't buy it. Just because something is repeated often, doesn't make it true. In fact, it is very much the opposite, it's a case of reverse antisemitism.
So, it seems like the purpose of the column was just to state an untrue often repeated prejudiced statement. For what reason?
211
@B Lundgren
The writer has a right to express his observations, facts and opinions together in an opinion/editorial section. Sensitivity has been taken to an extreme these days. It's a good time to be reminded of the achievements of a part of our society whom Russia and other detractors have been trying to marginalize for hundreds of years. We should do it more often when we find people who have contributed so much to so many.
245
This is baffling. It is hard to picture a corresponding column being written about whatever ethnic group has the lowest average “IQ” and why they are prone to mediocrity, so I’m not sure I agree this angle is acceptable even in its positive light. I think we would collectively be quick to dismiss the reverse as problematic, at best. And how interesting that the author is so careful to clarify Ashkenazi rather than Sephardic or other Jewish sects. I’m interested to hear about cultural teachings that may lead to excellence, but this seems ... really off the mark.
3223
@Kerry O Stephens is just reporting the data. It is true that this data makes many of us uncomfortable, but do you really think the answer is to pretend it doesn't exist?
201
Your argument is that we shouldn't pursue the truth if it is inconvenient. Honor over truth.
107
@Frank Knarf
Like Kerry O, I was somewhat taken aback by Mr. Stephens' theme, but, like you too, Frank, I'm interested if there's good data behind this beyond anecdotalism.
However, I doubt it. One prime problem with getting good data on "ethnic groups" and "intelligence" or "achievement" is that the subject is largely taboo after one Nobelist (for semiconductors), William Shockley, from MIT and Stanford, got interested in the subject and then got pilloried for exploring it.
Then there are the basic research problems of defining what is an ethnic group, what is intelligence, and what is achievement.
Here's a tangential example. We have a neat rescued mutt dog, and were curious about his provenance. Everbody expected to find some close kinship with border collies, but it turned out that he is half Samoyed, more than a third boxer, and the rest terrier mix.
Ashkenazi Jews have a remarkably insular marriage situation for whatever reasons, and so might be a better study group. However, most of America is in a rather mutt-like, mixed-up situation in terms of both culture and DNA. It's hard to see, even if serious research into these questions had been conducted for the past 50 years, that we'd know too much more than conventional American wisdom: that each person is unique, and that intelligence and achievement are strongly influenced by hard work, personal drive, and circumstance. That some loose groups may "perform" better in some respects is distracting.
69
An insightful look into why Jews have given the world so much. I have often mourned those who died in the Holocaust not only for the loss of life, but for the loss of what they could have given to the world had they lived, worked, and been celebrated instead of murdered.
69
Perhaps the writer might consider an article about why Asian students pass the entrance exam for the NYC specialized high schools at greater rates than other groups. We know that household income is not an issue and that this reflects nearly the same racial breakdown as those scoring highest on the SAT.
37
The glass half-empty or half-full? Mute your identity or revel in it? Maintain traditional religious tenets or modify to the new environment? Questions Jews have asked for 5000-years-plus and will wrestle with for another 5000 should civilization not implode.
9
IQ tests measure how people do on IQ tests, not intelligence.
66
@D, whatever intelligence tests measure, scores strongly correlate to a host of real-world outcomes that we consider to require "smarts", most notably academic achievement but also success in one's profession and in managing one's health and personal finances. This supports the claim that they measure something real and important.
5
The literacy mandate, enforced for Torah study, meant that Jews came to the job market equipped with skills more valuable than manual labor.
40
I have always thought that the pedagogical tradition in the Jewish community to view any given issue from as many different perspectives as possible is why Hollywood was created by Jews rather than... say... Catholics.
Perhaps this is even why the Catholic Church was so desperate to censor Hollywood for so long.
13
Something I’ll never understand is anti-Semitic complaints about Jews running Hollywood. So?? Jews helped create Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin was a Jew who used his art to comment on the horror from which he escaped in a way that people could digest and appreciate. (And as a rule, the comfortable generally don’t create the best art. The envy is misplaced.) It’s not a conspiracy - it’s a culture.
3
When you get to that level of argumentation, it starts being a little bit insulting to your intelligence. I don't value the writing and philosophical content of the NYT as high as the European press but I still think that some articles in the NYT are worth more intellectual dignity than that kind of idiosyncrasy.
2
"Jews of the late 19th century would have been familiar with the hatreds. Jews of the early 21st century should recognize where they could lead. What’s not secret about Jewish genius is that it’s a terribly fragile flower."
That is true. I am Jewish. I have two children and six grandchildren. I am appalled at the latest attacks on Jews that killed innocent Jews in a grocery store. I am further appalled by the 3 new Congresswomen who openly support the BDS movement and equate Zionism with Apartheid. Worse, these women believe that it's ok to boycott American Jewish businesses because they may or do support Israel.
The Jews are indeed brighter than their gentile friends. But if the boycotting of American Jewish businesses and organization and young college students is allowed to continue, then there will be fewer and fewer young Jewish men and women trained for the sciences and other things that demand higher level thinking and solutions. Making Jews non-citizens with fewer rights and subjecting them to boycotts is just plain stupid. It is also terrifying. We Americans need to rethink how we regard the Jews of American and whether or not we want a land devoid of many of the best minds that we can produce.
Oh! And as for being fragile flowers I can guarantee that many Jews will not go quietly in the night. This is not 1939 in Germany. The Jews will defend themselves. They will first defend with their minds and then with whatever is necessary to survive.
25
@Jack Frost
Nobody is trying to make Jews non-citizens, and BDS isn't about boycotting Jews or Jewish-run businesses. BDS is about boycotting the state of Israel because it refuses to treat Palestinians as full citizens or allow them to have their own state.
If BDS was what you think it is, you would be right to oppose it. But it isn't, and you aren't.
42
@Jack Frost
Christian and Muslim citizens in Israel have fewer rights than Jewish citizens. Jewish political parties across the board absolutely refuse to ally with Palestinian parties no matter what. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live under a vicious free fire military occupation and have done so for more than fifty years.
Not content with controlling Palestinians in Israel, Israel and its supporters have begun , generally successfully, restricting free speech in the US and Europe, both legally and via bullying.
This is all wrong. And as long as I still have the ability to say so I will do so. Israel is an apartheid state. No Jewish person in America would want to live in America under the rules that Israel imposes on Palestinians.
This is not about anti-semitism. After the Palestinians themselves, Jewish Americans have written some of the most trenchant critiques of the actions of the state of Israel and the savage behavior of Jewish settlers--shooting kids, destroying olive orchards, restricting medicine, throwing garbage on Palestinians, etc.
9
Although Jews make up of many Nobel prize laureates, how many them actually from Israel? Yes, there are many Jewish wonderful chess players, but how many of them actually from Israel? Seems to me, Jews need other cultures in order to shine. As matter of fact, I think it is silly to assign IQ to every ethnicity. I think it should be more important the IQ of individuals than abstract IQ of ethnicity.
8
Actually 12 Israelis won Nobel prizes since 1965. A huge number for a tiny country.
5
@yulia Israel has more Nobel Prizes per capita than the United States, France and Germany. It has more laureates, in real numbers, than India, Spain and China.
5
I agree that anti semitism is on the rise, and the same old slander against jews is being brought out, as it was during the crusades, the inquisition, and under the nazis.
However, it is a mistake to conflate the project of Netanyahu with Zionism. It is actually the opposite, as it risks turning Israel into a Jewish minority state through it's control of the West Bank and the large population of Palestinians there. It is a copy-paste of the blood and soil nationalism of 1930's Europe that can only succeed through undemocratic apartheid or direct ethnic cleansing.
Begin was able to creatively reframe the question to make peace with Egypt and Sadat (Who was assassinated for doing so), Rabin tried to do so with the Palestinians and was killed as a result by the Israeli right. The only path to peace in the long term was, and is a two state solution.
14
Tomorrow I am going to have my 3 grandchildren ( college freshman, HS, senior and junior) watch Shindler's List. It is time for them to get a gut understanding of what hate and anti-Semitism really means.
it's not about IQ, or skin color, or religion. It's about castigating and demonizing "others."
These days it's clear to us. To Democrats and Republicans, who hate.
I hate Trump. Republicans hate Pelosi. We both hate and we have found a way to live with our hate because we both feel superior.
But we can't fall into the trap of equvaliance. There is right and wrong, just as there was in WW II.
Oscar Schindler was a Nazi but he found truth within himself and rose above the wrong of Hitler's Germany. He risked all he had to pursue right.
I hope America can do the same.
17
Please be direct and state that Trump has brought white nationalism and disturbed white power proponents out of the shadows. He has empowered those who hate targeted groups, including Jews, despite his false claims that he doesnt have an anti Semitic bone in his body. His entire political success is based on demeaning others, fomenting hate and dividing Americans.
118
As a Jew, I worry about this notion of "Jewish Genius." What began as a seeming admiration of intellect can very quickly turn to a conspiracy theory about this tiny people controlling the world's wealth. As if we could.
I wonder if Asian Americans feel a similar nervousness when their "Genius" is touted.
2433
@Stephen
Yes, I cannot speak for all Asian Americans - that would be a huge swath of land and a couple of billion+ people from which a handful have migrated to this country - but when a close adviser to the President calls us out as 'those' South Asians, it is chilling. Let us just say, for the present, we are flying under the radar.
137
@Stephen I am Jewish. My daughter graduated 20 years ago from a top ten medical school. I sat in the audience at graduation and almost without exception, every called student name was Jewish or a hard to pronounce immigrant -- primarily Indian or Asian. Explain that away. This med school was noted for seeking diversity. Any other applicant that had anything going would have been represented.
I graduated from law school around the same time (late entry). There were four students of color admitted out of 160 students. Only one graduated and passed the bar. Please explain in hundred words or less. That's fact not racism and as Democrat and one who wants all to succeed, that actually made me sad.
90
@Mary Rivkatot
There are many things, beyond genetics, that lead to graduating from medical school or law school. Many families--mine included--do not want their children to attend medical school or law school. Why? I personally find medical things and hospitals nasty and, while I would never stand in the way of my child becoming a doctor, I was grateful when one daughter decided to go into another hard science instead. So grateful that I can't tell you. As for law, I have worked in Big Law and it's awful. Awful soulless work. Terrible, painful to go to those jobs. If you don't do Big Law, student debt is too much to attend law school. No, this family encouraged our children to do something beyond those two degrees. That shows that we have imagination about what else the world can hold for them, including becoming librarians, writers, artists, filmmakers, video game makers, you name it. So call us stupid, but I say we're smarter to not follow the crowd.
100
Yeah, I think some/most of your points are right - it is about being part of the diaspora that lets you think outside the box, which is needed for such creativity.
It helps to be a smart outsider with out of the box thinking strategy but also living all over the world where there are opportunities to apply such thinking.
3
@RamS Every one on the planet is part of a "diaspora".
1
"At its best, the West can honor the principle of racial, religious and ethnic pluralism not as a grudging accommodation to strangers but as an affirmation of its own diverse identity."
This sentence almost makes me mourn for how completely we have lost any sense of idealism.
8
The tradition of arguing with God means that authority is not enough – it has to make sense.
That's the crucial difference in thinking.
That, and valuing learning above all else. Not just STEM learning, but ethical discourse and philosophical inquiry. The willingness to ask the next question.
And of course, to laugh at ourselves when we're being serious.
85
This is a thoughtful and beautifully written piece. I have always admired the emphasis that Jews place on education. The reasons for their genius is made clearer in this reflection. Thank you for it.
19
As an Ashkenazi Jew, I have always wondered where all these "pathbreaking ideas and innovations" have gotten us. As you point out, Bret, Jews have been persecuted for a long time - pogroms, the Holocaust, etc. Many of my relatives died in concentration camps in the 1940's. All of these "pathbreaking ideas and innovations" are fine but I would posit that the just plain survival of the Jewish People should be the ultimate goal. Only the Jews in Israel seem to have gotten the message. Each soccer team having a ball obviates the conflict, but it's a scenario that will never happen. That's the crux of it.
16
Stephens slides too easily between his use of "Jew" and "Ashkenazi Jew", thus putting into question both his observations and conclusions. As most of the Jews I know are of Ashkenazi origin, I would be especially interested in hearing the perspectives of Jews from Africa and India.
A Jewish friend of mine noted to me several years ago that the book version of the Torah that her Conservative congregation used in their daily devotions had, in addition to the Hebrew and an English translation, a commentary on each page regarding the meaning of many passages. The kicker, though, was that there was not one but two differing commentaries on each page. In other words, meaning was a process, not something beyond dispute.
Change necessitates being able to question, to ask why. And it is dissatisfaction that motivates the asking of questions and, thus, intentional change." I don't like things this way, what can I do to change the situation?" As inherently dissatisfied creatures, we ask questions: a Jew might ask why the Czar had the right to throw him in the army for 30 years? Do I have to accept that relationship? If not, what might I be able to do about it?
Perhaps that is the root of what Stephens is trying to get at. Never quite belonging, Jews were intellectually prodded to always seek alternative explanations for what others accepted. Perhaps being the "Chosen People" means they are chosen to always ask questions. I for one would not find that a comfortable position to be in.
11
@Steve Fankuchen
Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, whose ancestors endured their own versions of pogroms, discrimination, etc., have had the same nature and nurture opportunities and challenges - and talmudic traditions of learning - as the Ashkenazis. The difference is the access to formal education, which until recently was more available to Jews of European descent. But we should remember that Maimonides, Spinoza, and all the great Jewish thinkers before the modern era were mostly all Sephardic or Mizrahi.
20
Bret, this was wonderful to read. I am not Jewish, but my closest friend is. My husband also had a dear friend, now deceased, who was a Rabbi of the Reformed tradition. We were both privileged and honored to have this holy man as part of our lives. He was a person who was from South Carolina and came of age during the Civil Rights' Era. He marched in the South in unity with the those of color and even found himself jailed once or twice. For him it was always about social justice, knowledge and education, with wisdom as the Solomon-like goal. For both my friend and he, they were not about gaining "grace" to be admitted to heaven, the go-to dogma of my Catholic Church. Instead it was about doing now, for others not for oneself, where heaven may be mythical and not reality. I have found that the Jewish philosophy, whether non-practicing or practicing, sees life as it need be seen. Ironically, in so many ways its embracement of tolerance, compassion, acceptance, and justice is more Christ-like than many of those who call themselves Christians. Bret states that "Jewish genius" is a terribly fragile flower. On the contrary, the Jewish mind is more like our California redwoods, ages old, lasting, stately, and evergreen.
79
One must be aware that elevating one group necessarily reduces another.
177
@Billy Evans
Not true; no group was elevated by this column. Think it through.
19
What a magnificent editorial: poignant, inspirational, and insightful. What my father taught me was to recognie that which is admirable. That in turn guided my selection of who to admire and how to shape my own life. He wasn't wealthy, powerful, or famous but he was exactly the different-thinking Jew you describe in this editorial. I have watched the rise of anti-Semitism, in disguise and in plain sight this past decade or so, with great concern. It hasn't been pretty and I'm sure there is more ugliness to come, but I believe that it will all turn out for the best.
11
Brett needs a refresher in the statistics of normal distributions. If a group has a mean shifted one standard deviation to the right, things get very interesting when you look at how many individuals are out on the plus 3 or 4 tail where the Nobel prize winners are found.
3
I claim no special knowledge of Jewish people and their history. I am a life long learner who has spent much of that life learning new things and digging deeper into many subjects. My reason: what a person knows goes with them on their life journey. The diaspora is in flux all the time it seems, and so a people which is uncertain about where they might be next can always take their knowledge and skills along. They may lose a house or business but with the knowledge, they can rise again. Jewish people have risen many times and no doubt will again. And knowledge will be one of the reasons for their successes.
4
Different peoples, and peoples, have different experiences and their cultural adaptations will necessarily differ as well. A thousand years of contingent status has compelled Jewish people to be agile and wary, two traditional characteristics of successful entrepeneurs. The vulnerability of traditional rural Jews in Europe pushed them toward cosmopolitan cities that also offered greater economic opportunity. Finally, the spectre of future disaster encouraged the accumulation of transportable, and concealable, wealth. In this sense Donald Trump happens to be a very non-Jewish real estate tycoon, not agile, not wary, not cosmopolitan, and wildly irresponsible with the money he inherited. He thinks that by all rights he’s entitled to everything he can put his hands on and convinced he will always come out on top. Traditionally, very few Jews have that blind confidence.
2
I remember the first time someone told me they never discuss politics or religion when they have people over for dinner. I was wondering what they must talk about, as politics and religion were pretty much the only topics at our Jewish dinner table. Turns out they mostly gossiped, which worked fine for them.
17
The increase in hate crimes is sickening, and can be directly attributed to Trumpism. America is better than Trumpism, and we, as American citizens, must rise above the stoking of hatred, dishonesty, cruelty and division that is now being embraced by lock step Republicans. And we must do it at the ballot box.
10
Many of my most brilliant colleagues are of Jewish descent. Their Judaism is not very apparent. This little college town seems unaware of the learned tradition that propels these scholars and, to some extent, underpins the university.
13
Brett, I can't believe the coincidence. Just this morning I read the same Wikipedia article about the Ashkenazi Jews with respect to their high percentage representation among thinkers, artists, and entrepreneurs, in addition to their higher average IQ scores and a disproportionate presence in areas such Nobel Prizes, ACM Turing awards, etc.
It took a lot of courage to write this article and I'm sure you're going to "catch it" from some. Nevertheless, it's factual and observational. I think the reasons for this phenomenon is both by natural selection and cultural. I believe any group, such as the Jews, would have the same results given a similar history. To survive in an anti-Semitic world, one must be smart and pay attention to those intangible items that cannot be taken away, such as intelligence and survival instincts. An great example of this is the State of Israel and in how much has been accomplished there in such a short time period.
36
@biglatka
The State of Israel has had many accomplishments, no doubt.
It has also had enomrous help from another State that has, arguably, paved the way for some of those achievements.
4
I often think, when watching and reading and listening to our most insightful thinkers, politicians, and journalists, who are so often Jewish, how grateful I am that Jews have made the US their home. Thank you for all you do for this country.
25
Having been harassed throughout history, driven out of every territory and province that exists or has yet to perish; and violently mistreated and murdered, the Jewish people have three abiding traits: belief in one unseen, omniscient G_d; a survival instinct hidden in assimilation and the quest for knowledge; and an abiding sense of humor.
Non-Jewish people will read this column and say it is pretentious and “hogwash”.
In this season of religious holidays, it is hoped that with well wishes the readers of this column will tolerate the premise and the conclusion. The Jewish people may not necessarily be “The Chosen”, but their ongoing contributions that try to benefit the many is a reasonable ground to be lauded in light of the possibility that a Jewish family and its son were an integral part of the ultimate concern of mankind. What if He was the Messiah and everyone missed it? The Lord’s Prayer was a spontaneous response to a simple question: “Teach us to pray.” It was a work of spiritual insight and genius. This opinion presents a viable argument that the genius has remained ever-present.
6
It is because they value study, discussion, and intellectual pursuits. However, they would benefit from studying the Irish and acquiring better PR skills to avoid discrimination. Also S Koreans who are also very intelligent and "mix better".
4
I am not Jewish but enjoyed this positive article. In a age where all negative generalizations about a group are condemned as racist, it is nice to see that general affirmations about a group are allowed. Diversity heck most anything is only as good as it can be tested, and if politeness and politics keep all generalizations off limits then ideas can’t be tested. But your article seems to say that Jewish IQ comes from a history of fighting against oppression. I am Christian but would argue that God despite this oppression has honored his covenant with his people and has blessed them. Perhaps it is they very attitude that stems from the simultaneous feeling that one is oppressed by others but blessed by God that leds to that wonderful noble desire you described in the article that Jews work for the betterment of humanity and beauty. I for one am grateful for it.
10
Finally...the recognition.
3
Bret, it is a joy to have you on the opinion pages of the NYT.
Not that you need to hear it from me, but you are a writer in top form, a critical thinker, and healthy dose of reality more often than you know.
Among NYT's many opinion columnists who've made a 4+ year career of writing only about Trump, Bret, you are a gem who continues to explore many interesting topics and styles and this is another piece I was happy to read.
8
“Give one ball to each side, and they will have nothing to fight over.”
Sometimes, no one wants a ball they just want to have fun while sharing. In some societies that is a difficult concept to master.
5
@Ian Quan-Soon you mean they compete for the ball to win the game and take home the trophy and that is what you’d call sharing? No thanks
While reading this thoughtful piece, I found myself wondering why it lacked specifics. Mr. Stephens says it is no surprise that threats against Jews are growing worldwide, but where is his explanation? What is an obvious first step remedy?
I keep waiting for Mr. Stephens to state clearly what to others is painfully obvious -- Trump and the "nationalism" he represents is the #1 threat to world order in general, and an immediate threat to Jews.
Sir, now is the time to say clearly that you will vote for ANY Democratic presidential nominee, against Trump. No more hand wringing about Medicare for All. If now is not the time to say this, when will be the time?
11
Culture is downstream from genetics, not vice-versa. Jewish culture developed as it did BECAUSE Jews are smarter (on average) than other groups.
5
Oy vey, why are you talking such mishigas?
Once you start arguing that one group of people is "smarter" than others, it's a slippery (and dangerous) slope to argue the converse, i.e. that some groups are "inferior" than others. As a Jew, such a perspective should be an anathema!
"And there is the understanding, born of repeated exile, that everything that seems solid and valuable is ultimately perishable, while everything that is intangible — knowledge most of all — is potentially everlasting. If the greatest Jewish minds seem to have no walls, it may be because, for Jews, the walls have so often come tumbling down."
Sorry, but that same argument applies to African Americans, Native Americans, and to every displaced/oppressed group throughout history. Jews aren't anything special in that.
"There is a moral belief, “incarnate in the Jewish people” according to Einstein, that “the life of the individual only has value [insofar] as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful.”
Sorry, but many Asian religions have similar beliefs.
Read this column in the context of current arguments about "elitism" and "meritocracy," and step back from the powderkeg.
In fact, it could be argued that the reason that Jews have "succeeded" in Western culture is because they created the system of (academic) meritocracy. But in the same vein, one could argue that Jews also control the media.
Dangerous words and ideas!
Reb Stephens should know better than this.
690
@Paul-A
What if “dangerous ideas” are true? Are you proposing ostrich behavior?
5
This article would not have been needed until Trump became President, a man so conflicted and opportunistic that he has surrounded himself with self-loathing Jews like Stephen Miller and vulture billionaires like Mnuchin. Half my family died in the Holocaust and whenever I say or write that I am bothered that it sounds like a credential. America has only begun to exterminate everyone who isn’t a right wing Christian by falsifying the writings of the Founders, not least of whom was Washington who invited Muslims and Jews and Catholics and Buddhists to come here because religion was a private matter that could not impose on the civil rights of anyone. The cynicism of a punk like Trump has met with the dark evangelicals who would not only turn our country into a theocracy but prepare for the so-called end of days. Make no mistake, Trump’s religious base is a force anathema to the Founders and the purge of everyone who isn’t either devout or corrupt has begun. We are at war.
54
@Naked In A Barrel
Thank you--you get what he is saying and your comment should be at the very top of the comments section!!
4
I believe what you are talking about here is what W.E.B. DuBois in another context calls "double consciousness."
5
I am not comfortable asigning a biological reason for any groups situation. Having experienced advanced medical colleagues in traditional setting and a Jewish institution I found the latter much more intellectually exciting and free. But I think its cultural not biological [excluding Einstein et al] Whatever it is' for a young Irish Catholic MD it was a joy.
544
@Dr joe
The entire column is about nurture — i.e. environment and circumstances — more than it is about nature, as I read it.
29
@Dr joe I don't think the writer is saying the reason for the genius is biological. He gives example of the anxiety that may actually make for more creative minds and the questioning/arguing nature of Jewish teaching.
23
What is the point of an article like this? Focusing on perceived exceptionalism of an ethnic group, even when seemingly positive, does little more than reinforce stereotypes and division among people. Let’s celebrate all individuals for their unique gifts irrespective of what ethnic or cultural group we feel compelled to label them by!
2345
@cd
Stephens' point is that Jews are under attack in the U.S.
Further, Americans have benefitted from our jewish citizens proportionally more than from other citizens. Reflecting on why this might be, Stephens highlights that it may stem from religious teachings ... Judaism emphasizes DISCUSSION that CHALLENGES STATUS QUO unlike most other religions that demand allegiance to dogma and obedience. He continues to highlight how this has been practiced by jews and non-jews alike in American universities and elsewhere in U.S. and West. Perhaps non-jews may respect their jewish neighbors and keep jews safe.
161
@cd
The exceptionalism is positive not" seemingly." And in case you haven't noticed all people are not the same.
25
@Old patriot there are other ways to discuss the benefits and intellectual influence the culture has of the threat we as re under without slapping as Gold Star on us with this kind of exceptionalism.
32
This past year, I traveled to a synagogue to Seattle to see Jonathan Haidt and David Brooks. The day I saw Brooks, there was a shooting in a synagogue in California. But Temple De Hirsch opened its doors to everyone. A religious institution hosting public intellectuals? The Rabbi was present and introduced the guests? The culture embraced science, reason, and debate. I never expected this in a religious institution. The Nobel Prize count, given the percentage of the population is extraordinary. One retort to Anti-Semitism is "scoreboard." I've met individuals who survived Aushwitz; they, and everyone of Jewish ancestry have so much to be proud of.
498
What you said, Bret. Just a few things I'd like to add, some of which you've touched on.
Firstly, its ethics are more sophisticated. You're not a sinner or not in Judaism. There are multiple degrees of misdeed, ranging from an opportunity to do something good, not taken, to doing something unintentionally harmful, to doing something bad and knowing it was bad.
And don't look to God to forgive you. You can only be forgiven by the people you've harmed. Heck, you don't even have to believe in God to be a Jew but that's another subject. It is attractive though to evidence-based thinkers.
Nor is there a clear sense of what a good deed is. This puzzle preoccupied Maimonides, as you likely know, who developed an elaborate ranking for good deeds in the 12th Century.
Thus the culture Judaism created is as you said - one where debate and critical thinking can flourish, and individual agency exists for a purpose.
There are other factors of course, such as what professions Jews were allowed to practice, the fact that in many cases they were not allowed to own land and lead agrarian lives.
It's also a culture that doesn't recruit new members. I'll leave the implications of that up to the thoughtful souls who read the comments section.
Oh, and don't sigh about Karl Marx. Yes, his idealized political systems were juvenile as he himself acknowledged late in life. As an economist, however, he was singularly brilliant.
783
@Jonathan Baron
I wish that "managing a planned economy" had been described by Stephens as a prosaic endeavor rather than "formulating a war plan."
We do need to manage our economies better to avoid upticks in nationalism which usually result in a need for war plans.
Marx may have been wrong in his approach, but I don't believe anyone with a thinking mind, Jewish or otherwise, could point to unfettered capitalism as a raging success in terms of promoting social tolerance. If it had been, Stephens wouldn't need to devote every other column to warning us about the rise of anti-Semitism.
102
@Jonathan Baron
hmm, I think reducing all christian thought to fundamentalist theology sounds much like Bret delineating jewish genius as European (read racially) as opposed to being a confluence of various factors, some cultural, others geographic.
but your comment about not recruiting new members as a key to jewish exceptionalism raised the temperature around my chest.
I would love to hear some elaboration of that thought.
Who might the culprits be in dumbing down other populations?
19
@Jonathan Baron
Judaism doesn't actively 'recruit new members' because:
-- you can't honour your father & mother is you abandon their faith
-- on the day of judgement the righteous of all nations will rise up.
Seeking new recruits is an activity of those hoping to win brownie points with their deity & get to heaven on the number of souls they harvested.
41
Jews had an intellectual advantage from living in cities and towns.....when cities and towns made up a small portion of the total population.
In Europe, they were forbidden from owning land for centuries.
I had a discussion several years ago with 2 Jewish "Ivy League" professors.
They both had been teaching since about 1980.
Each said that the 'average' abilities of their current Jewish students had declined from what it had been in the 1980s.
They blamed assimilation.
They said the best students now tended to be Asian-Americans.
Or were they missing something there?
318
@Kenneth Johnson
"They both had been teaching since about 1980.
Each said that the 'average' abilities of their current Jewish students had declined from what it had been in the 1980s. They blamed assimilation."
Assimilation?.. I'm a Jewish emigre from USSR and adjunct prof. Let me share my observations. First generations of emigres come in US mostly poor and work through their noses to establish themselves and to give their children a better future. However the next generations are often born into well-to-do families and think more about fun than about studies, due to liberal parenting. Asian families, no matter how successful they may have become, are probably uniquely capable to nurture hard-working ethics in their kids.
73
@Kenneth Johnson
It's not ethnicity, it's effects of immigration.
In both cases, Jews & Asians (assuming Chinese & Indians), you have peoples whose 5,000+ year old cultures traditionally respect and admire education & learning.
Assimilation & the Holocaust broke that link for Jews.
Another reason, at least in Australia, for 'average' university students, is back in the day only the top 20% were admitted to the limited number of universities & faculties.
Today there are more institutions described as 'universities' and a bottomless pit of below average ''filler' faculties to keep the money rolling in.
37
@Kenneth Johnson
There is something the opinion writer does not note explicitly about Jewish character, and that is, perhaps, chutzpah, or some quality of being outspoken and believing in voicing individual opinion. There are some brilliant Asians, whose IQs are extremely high, very capable of individualistic, creative thought, who have strong familial backgrounds, who feel outcast from mainstream society, but .... Asian culture doesn't reward individualism. Most Asian-Americans, no matter how brilliant, have to fight that cultural inheritance, and most don't win.
52
You write, " Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews." I don't see much evidence of that. What I do see is evidence that protest against Israel has been conflated with antisemitism by politicians and others ready to exploit the blurring of that distinction. They are not the same.
3641
@Ed L NYC It's one of his favorite political projects
71
@Ed L NYC True. This is why every day on my commute I have to literally bat my way through throngs of protestors - those protesting the persecution of Copts in Egypt, the persecution of Christians in Pakistan, the murder of Syrians by Syrians, the murder of Iranians by their government, the persecution of Christians in Malaysia (or was that Indonesia, I forget), the slave children of Dubai, the persecution of Muslims by China, the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar, the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, the persecution of women in many Muslim countries, the abduction and rapes by Book Haram, the suicide bombings by...on and on...I can barely make my way anywhere for the volume of protests. Somewhere at the end of the row there's a little insignificant protest against Israel - and people make a big deal about it. Always conflating legitimite protests against Israel with so-called anti-semitism. Ridiculous, isn't it.
444
@Ed L NYC
Agreed but, many an anti-Semite have tried to co-opt or conflate criticism of Israel to their cause. The BDS movement is one example.
If nothing else, Trump offers a perspective of how one can be critical of a government but still support the people and the country. Neither Trump’s nor Netanyahu’s governments will be remembered as noble examples, but hopefully their countries will continue ie to be.
62
“ Anti-Zionism has taken the place of anti-Semitism as a political program directed against Jews.”
No. Mr. Stephens, you can make it that, but I can assure you the decline in my support of Israel has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.
I know the history and understand the Zionist aspirations for a Jewish homeland. It was an almost completely Ashkenazi dream. Most of the Sephardim and Mizrahi Jews of the Mediterranean and Middle East, unlike the Christian anti-Jewish violence suffered by the Ashkenazi during European history, lived relatively peaceful lives under the Ottoman Turks.
Unfortunately, the Zionists, who were largely secular, chose Palestine, the ancient home of the Israelites, as the site for the new Jewish homeland. What a mistake. Better the Ashkenazi should have been bequeathed Bavaria. Sure, Germans would be upset, but they would have had only themselves to blame, while the Palestinians could have continued as they had, living in misery in the Middle East. I digress.
A Jewish homeland is a fine and noble aspiration, perhaps even if it came at the expense of the Palestinians. A two-state solution should have been a done deal in 2000, if not for Yasser Arafat and the foolish Palestinian Authority for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But since then, Netanyahu and his increasingly reactionary forces have become equally complicit in turning Israel into something ugly. As a Jew, turning my back on Israel does not make me an anti-Semite.
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@Maurie Beck
Well reasoned... well stated.
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@Maurie Beck
By Mr. Stephens' definition, an overwhelming percentage of American Jews are anti-Semites.
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@KB and Mr Beck, I recommend you read the relevant pages of Martin Gilbert's Atlas of Jewish History for the catalog of pogroms in every country in which the Sephardic Jews lived. Iraq in particular had vicious anti-Jewish riots. The Ottoman empire ended thirty years before the birth of Israel, and there were a lot of nasty incidents like the Hebron massacre to show the necessity of Jewish self defense during that time too. Israel wasn't just an Ashkenazi project, as if that would be any less legitimate. Pssst...when they say Zionists...they mean Jews. "Hamas, Hamas, Les Juif au gas!" chant the Arabs marching in Paris. You may turn your back on Israel, but Israel doesn't turn it's back on you. Oh the idea of a Bavarian homeland for the Jews...right where they could still smell the ashes...a non-starter.
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