Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: The Boomerang of Anti-Semitism
Once again, we are faced with the age-old question: why does anti-Semitism have such historical staying power, cyclically repeating in numerous variations? To be sure, several complementary answers come to mind, but one especially sticks out in the modern era: socio-economic jealousy. If the Jews are so successful in so many different areas of life, the reason “must be” reprehensible (e.g., Protocols of the Elders of Zion).
There’s no denying that everywhere they live, Jews are successful way beyond their numbers. Examples abound. Two will suffice for now:
20% of all Nobel Prize recipients (excluding the Peace Prize) – eighty times (!) their proportion in the world’s population.
Heads of state or government (President or Prime Minister) in almost every Western country despite their small numbers relative to the general population: Britain – Disraeli; France – Millerand, Blum, Mayer, Mendes-France, Debre, Fabius; Italy – Fortis, Sonnino, Luzzatti; New Zealand – Vogel, Bell; Australia – Isaacs, Cowen; Austria – Kreisky; Switzerland – Dreifuss; and even such far-off countries such as Honduras (Lindo) and Peru (Goldenberg, Kuczynski). The U.S. hasn’t had a Jewish President yet, but in every other top position their numbers are impressive (Kissinger, Albright, Blinken et al). [For a complete list of Jewish leaders throughout modern history, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_heads_of_state_and_government]
Interestingly, these two categories don’t seem to foment as much anti-Semitism as three others: culture, education, and finance. Here too the data regarding Jewish proportional dominance are clear. But what anti-Semites don’t want to face (or are ignorant of), is that at least in these three central areas of life, it is anti-Semitism itself that shares the brunt of the “blame.” Understanding how this came to be will go a long way to comprehending the challenge Jews and all Philo-Semites face.
The first two fields – education and culture – are related. The story starts 2000 years ago. With the destruction of the Second Temple (arguably, the first major, anti-Semitic attack in world history), Jews had to find a replacement for the Temple cult. The rabbis came up with education and scholarship (e.g., the Talmud) as the core values of post-Temple Judaism (this “explains” the contemporary Haredi refusal to serve in Israel’s army, because “Torah learning is our occupation”). Recall: such a “revision” of Judaism occurred when around 98% of the rest of the world was illiterate. Obviously, such a focus gave Jews a huge advantage in any endeavor that demanded reading, writing, and thinking.
This also transpired at a time of growing Christian anti-Judaism (the term “anti-Semitism” is a much later nomenclature) in which, among other things, Jews were forbidden to own land, the mainstay of medieval economics (more of which in a moment). Thus, education and literacy held another advantage for the Jews uniquely: “portability.” With increasing pogroms, inquisitions, and national ejections (exile), it was easier to move to another place without losing one’s main economic resource – in this case, “brainpower” and a professional skill (medicine, trade, teaching).
In short, to use a somewhat anachronistic term for the pre-modern era, Jews became the world’s first “Information Age” workers, garnering centuries of experience well before the rest of the world entered that age (in the 20th century). A somewhat derogatory expression evolved in Yiddish for what many Jews were doing occupationally: luftgescheft (“air work” i.e., professions that had little physical basis), but this was actually a harbinger of the most productive type of work in the contemporary,information-oriented era!
To a large extent, cultural work was (is) also a type of luftgescheft. Here a world-famous example will suffice as representative of how anti-Semitism led to Jewish dominance: Hollywood. In 19th century Europe, many Jews were involved in show business (e.g., vaudeville) and other types of public performance. When they arrived on America’s East Coast shores at the turn of the 20th century, they faced significant challenges. First, economic restrictions, with established Gentile businesses and industries often closed off to Jews due to discrimination. Second, social exclusion, with quotas and restrictions limiting opportunities in education and housing.
What to do? Move west. Hollywood was just starting out, so that without any established hierarchy that early wasteland didn’t maintain any barrier to entry. Moreover, in typical American fashion, it exhuded a spirit of entrepreneurialism that resonated with Jewish immigrants who were accustomed to forging their own path in a challenging environment. The rest is history: most of the major Hollywood studios (e.g., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) were established by Jews, and such cinema industry predominance continues to a somewhat more limited, but still significant, extent to this day.
Finally, regarding finance, here too anti-Semitic origins go far back in time. In 325 CE, the First Council of Nicaea forbade Christians from lending money with interest. At the time, a large part of the western world was Christian, but Jews were not bound by canon law (therefore exempt from those usury restrictions) – and as noted above, Jews were also prohibited from engaging in farming (and certain trades) – so they stepped into this economic void decisively (if not eagerly: Jewish law had restrictions about lending money with interest to other Jews, but this did not apply to dealings with non-Jews).
The Christian restrictions against usury were ultimately relaxed but by then Jews had become a central factor in the banking and finance industries (e.g., the Rothschilds), continuing to this day. For instance, Jews constitute less than 2% of the American population, and yet many top banking executives, financial leaders, board of director members, and academic economists are Jewish – Soros, Yellen, Greenspan, Fink, Dimon, Summers, Stiglitz – the list goes on and on.
The bottom line (literally and figuratively), anti-Semitism is harmful to Jews and is viewed by anti-Semites as a curse on Jews. But if we turn our perspective around to the historial reality, the picture changes drastically: Jewish excellence and “numerical superiority” in key walks of life are a product of Jewish adaptation and ingenuity in the face of earlier persecution and discrimination. Anti-Semites would do well to remember the famous quote by the cartoon strip character Pogo, looking in the mirror: “we have met the enemy, and it is us.”
