Did you know that Jews…
Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 08:22PM …comprise a mere 1/4 of 1% (13 million) of the world's population (6 billion) that 99% of the world is non-Jewish, and that of the 660 Nobel prizes from 1901-1990, 160 have been won by Jews. Jews have won more Nobel prizes than any other ethnicity. They have won 40 times more than should be expected of them based upon population statistics. (from Lisa Katz)
Google “Jewish accomplishments” and you will find - in all fields - including science, mathematics, medicine, art, literature, music and philosophy – lists and lists of Jewish people who have enriched our world.
The two conquerors of polio - Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin - were Jewish. Selman Waksman, discover of streptomycin (the first molecule effective against tuberculosis) was Jewish. Many of my favorite musical composers were Jewish - Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland. Marc Chagall, the French painter, was Jewish. Ayn Rand, one of my favorite philosophers, was Jewish.
Those of you on the left might appreciate Engels, Chomsky, and Marcuse – all Jewish.
I say: Thank God for the Jews. Thank-you, God for the Jews who have brought so much joy, light, and progress to this world.
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Reader Comments (48)
Google "Ashkenazi Jews" highest IQ's on the planet of any group.
I'm with you Patty, I love the Jewish people.
...and I second that. I think the world owes the Jewish people a huge debt for their absolutely massive contribution to a better world for all.
And yes - Irving Berlin, Bernstein - sheer class!
The one thing that always surprise me though is why the majority of US Jews vote Dem - when tDem's like Jimmy Carter, for instance, appear to be dripping with anti-semitism?
and most of them were in turn liberals, leftists, and non-observant Jews.
Thank You, God, for the liberal left in this Your world, and for all those clever Jews who You made clever enough to ignore religion and instead help their fellow man,
And for those thousands of Jews who were so disproportionately present and active in the world's Socialist and Communist organisations, furthering the material dialectic of human advancement with every breath.
(Although You did, however, slip up, God, in having Engels born into a very pious Protestant household, such that Your daughter Patty assumed that, as he was a leftist and very clever, he must have been a Jew. Verily, you do work in strange and wondrous ways.)
David: Probably due to (1) Jewish identification with other struggling minorities - groups traditionally championed by the Democrats (2) Jewish immigrants settled in the cities which are generally Democrat strongholds (3) Jewish participation in the Labor Movement which was traditionally supported by Democrats (4) Jewish traditions of liberalism (5) Franklin Roosevelt (6) Strong Democratic support for Israel (7) Republican Party's position at times over the years regarding "outsiders" "foreign types" and non-Christians.
Carter's odd utterances of recent times contrast with his earlier support of Israel. I don't think he is anti-Semitic, just deeply mistaken.
Noel: Ooops. I thought Engels was Jewish. Mea culpa.
By the way, I don't like or agree with Chomsky, Engels, Marcuse - but I do recognize their genius.
And thank-you, God, for Noel (French for Christmas!) and his ability to be clever and funny and help me to not react in a negative fashion because he is trying to find fault in the most innocent of postings.
Patty - I think Adam Sandler did it best with the Hanukkah song.
Mahons - I think correct about everything except Carter. Seriously, he may have dementia or alzheimers at this point, he just sounds like a crazy old bitter man.
Goodness Noel, are you a communist too!
The Jewish people ought to have been recognised and cherished as a benefit to any country lucky enough to have a significant proportion of them amongst their populace. But humans are a jealous lot and the Jewish people through their talents have sadly been at the sharpest end of that jealousy throughout history.
correction -insert "you are" in that first sentence.
Patty, you make a great case against Christianity.
;)
Isaac Bashevis Singer and Saul Bellow whose exploration of the Jewish experience culminated in some of the best literature of the twentieth century
Daphne: I think it reads better if you insert: "Brillant (Mahons) you are (correct about everything) as usual (except Carter)."
Benjamin Disraeli
1868 and 1874-80 Conservative Prime Minister
He was Britain's first, and so far only, Jewish Prime Minister. for almost seven years, he initiated a wide range of legislation to improve educational opportunities and the life of working people
Famous quotes
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics"
"I say that in a country governed by a woman - where you allow women to form part of the other estate of the realm (peeresses for example) where you allow a woman not only to hold land, but to be lady of the manor and hold legal courts. Where a woman by law may be a churchwarden and overseer of the poor - I do not see, when she has so much to do with the state and the church, on what reasons she has not a right to vote."
Nazi propaganda with image of Disraeli:
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ibsnen.htm
"A Jew founded the British Empire, and Jews rule it today!" P. 10 discusses Benjamin Disraeli, who it says was the founder of the empire.
shows the interior cover. In large letters, the phrase is "A new Europe!" A fat Englishman is sitting on a pile of skulls.
The most interesting is the one at the bottom right of this page, a description of Winston Churchill: "He twice attempted encirclement. Churchill and Lord Grey incited England into war in 1914. He played the same role in 1939, in part to satisfy his own drive for power. His lack of honesty and dirty dealings got on the nerves of many of his current "colleagues." One of his first official acts was the unscrupulous sinking of the Athenia.
pp. 16-17 show the extent of the British Empire. The cartoon at the top of this picture, from the well-known cartoonist Low, shows prosperous Englishmen protected by barbed wire from the world's less fortunate. There follows a list of England's colonial possessions.
Good to see things have moved on since then. Not!
>>Jewish immigrants settled in the cities which are generally Democrat strongholds<<
Interesting topic, mahons, but I think you may be putting the cart before the horse a bit.
It's strange perhaps that Jews - and Irish and Italians - generally gravitated to the cities in the New World (and also in the Old, come to think of it), whereas the English, Germans and Scandinavians generally headed for the open fields.
City folk generally tend to be more liberal than yokels, more open to the world and put a greater emphasis on education and social advancement.
I also think Democrat support for Israel has little to do with Jewish political orientation. The issue was in any case irrelevant until relative recently, and many urban Jews - practically all that I've met anyway - would not be moved by such support and frankly consider Israel and US blanket support for it to be one huge embarrassment.
Mahons - I almost wrote it that way, but decided your head didn't need anymore swelling!
The widespread level of venom against Jews has always amazed me. From any standpoint, they've been wonderfully productive and pious members of all the communities they've lived in. Jealousy alone can't be the reason. The hatred and ugliness that crosses all lines and countries is founded in what? Does any other group recieve this universal non-pc type of castigation?
People with ginger hair ;)
Not in your book Colm.....you red head loving fool :)
I can't believe that amid all these encomia no one has seen fit to acknowledge the greatest Jew of them all: Joan Rivers. For shame!
>>Does any other group recieve this universal non-pc type of castigation?<<
Daphne, I should think so! Just look at the stuff flung at "Muslims" on this site alone. "Castigation" would be a huge understatement.
Don't worry, by the way, I'm not a Communist. I was only pulling Patty's leg.
It's strange perhaps that Jews - and Irish and Italians - generally gravitated to the cities in the New World (and also in the Old, come to think of it), whereas the English, Germans and Scandinavians generally headed for the open fields.
This may be of interest - a fascinating document, well worth a read.
The Irish people, as a people, and a mass of people, first encountered modern industrial society, not in Ireland, but in America. Under the impact of this encounter, the Irish Migration broke into two parts. One part became known as the "eastern" or "Boston" Irish, the other part became known as the "westward-moving" Irish, the "other" Irish. The geographical distinctions, for many years, have ceased to be helpful, clear, or correct. But the ideological and historic differences are still extreme. Archbishop Hughes (New York) and Archbishop Ireland (Minnesota), two men within the early Migration, projected differing philosophies which contributed to the formal division of the Migration. Hughes called for the Irish to remain in the eastern cities, to build up constituencies within the Democrat Party, to assimilate to Anglo culture, to passively assimilate to a competitive economic system, etc. Archbishop Ireland called for the Irish to abandon the eastern cities, to move westward and settle in rural country, to oppose the political parties of the establishment and support independent politics, to refuse to assimilate to Anglo culture, to support alternative economics, etc. Between the two men, and the two philosophies, there could be no compromise. The Irish Migration in America became divided between the ‘Boston’ Irish and the ‘other’ Irish.
page 22, "Nonviolence in Irish History", Dawn Magazine, 1978
http://www.innatenonviolence.org/pamphlets/nonviolence.pdf
The problem with identity politics is that it's all about generalizations and separation into groups. But I didn't create this world, I just live in it. As you all know, there is growing a virulent tide of anti-semitism, fueled by the deranged prejudices of the Middle East and their deranged anti-Israel obsession.
It's important to recognize how stupid this particular affliction really is.
Don't worry, by the way, I'm not a Communist.
Thay all say that! He's a RED Patty and Pete ;)
Noel won't like this, but I stand with Israel. Other than exist and establish a remarkable country, what has Israel ever done to anybody?
>>what has Israel ever done to anybody?<<
Now I really have to return the compliment about an ability to be funny!
Patty
Are you trying to provoke Noel into a lengthy diatribe.
Mad
Sibling rivalry and hostility can be amongst the most persistent of conflicts.
Daphne - good one.
Israel was set up effectively at the behest of the Christian world. It was an exercise in power politics and it's existence highlights and continues to demonstrate the weaknesses and failures of Islamic countries. They cannot bring themselves to acknowlege the Jewish state as a valid sovereign nation because despite their relentless hostility to it , it continues to be.
>>what has Israel ever done to anybody?<<
Now I really have to return the compliment about an ability to be funny!
Reminds me of this from Twenty Major:
http://twentymajor.net/2006/12/30/saddam-hanged/
Noel: I was shooting out reasons why Jewish people tend to support the Democrats in response to David's question. The fact that it was a Democrat in the White House when Israel declared its independence was historically very important to the Jewish vote in the US. The support of Democratic politicians for Israel over the years helped cement that bond. It is one factor but a significant one.
There are Jewish folks in the US who don't agree with the level of support that the US has demonstrated for Israel, but I assure you that is a distinct minority.
Patty
Agree 150%.
No-one has mentioned that rather well-known Palestinian political criminal who came a cropper at the hands of the occupying forces of empire. He was a Jew too.
What happened to Jewish sportsmen, where are the cricketers, footballers and rugby players? I seem to recall an American journalist listing a team of Jewish baseball players, and some boxers from the 20s & 30s. Can anyone enlighten?
Jon: One of my groomsmen who happens to be Jewish loved saying the smallest books in the world are Jewish Sports Heroes and Italian Military Victories.
In any event I recall Sandy Koufax (a great pitcher) and Hank Greenberg (great hitter) in baseball as great palyers and roll models.
and what about Garibaldy ? he did well for a biscuit manufacturer..........................
Noel,
Watching hundreds of thousand middle eastern muslims dance and cheer in the streets the day after 9/11 hardened my heart forever to the ROP. Didn't give them two thoughts before then.
To equate the irrational hatred and persecution of jews to a real fear of dangerous islamic fundamentalism is assinine.
Oh happy daaaay:
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/national_news/index.var.82295.0.extremist_islamic_preacher_deported.php?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKL2559628420070525?rpc=401&
Another one to mull over regards our Abrahamic 'brothers'. Cant see that happening the other way round. But then the other people of the book have managed to join the 21st century
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178708675932&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
After running his fingerprints through a new security system, Saudi police discovered that he was a Christian who had arrived in the country six months earlier to take a job as a truck driver in the city of Dammam. Kamanda had subsequently left his place of work and moved to Mecca.
"The Grand Mosque and the holy city are forbidden to non-Muslims," Col. Suhail Matrafi, head of the department of Expatriates Affairs in Mecca, told the Saudi daily Arab News. "The new fingerprints system is very helpful and will help us a lot to discover the identity of a lot of criminals," he said.
>>To equate the irrational hatred and persecution of jews to a real fear of dangerous islamic fundamentalism is assinine.<<
Maybe it would be, Daphne, which is probably the reason nobody does.
On the other hand, to equate a generalised hatred of all things Jewish with the generalised hatred of all thinks Islamic that one encounters all over rightworld, for example on this site, is also silly really, as the comparison is so bloody obvious it doesn't need mentioning.
Oh dont be so righteously indignant Cunningham. Its insufferable. In your rush to chalk everyone up in a generalised fashion the other day you sided with a man who thinks fatwas are ok and is envious of Irans treatment of anyone who insults Islam.
I'm not sure that Jews were a mere 0.25% of the world's population during Salk and Sabin's time, but a remarkable performance from the community nevertheless. If we take the entire 3500 year history of the Jewish nation I'm sure their contributions will be even more significant. Christ, for example, was my favourite Jew and Patty hasn't even mentioned him...
Patty,
Other than exist and establish a remarkable country, what has Israel ever done to anybody?
Don't be funny, Pat. Right from the Book of Joshua to today's newspapers you can see what Israel's been doing to people. Don't let their remarkable contributions blind you to their sadder features.
Surely this thread will tempt Felix back ?
Alison,
"you sided with a man who thinks fatwas are ok and is envious of Irans treatment of anyone who insults Islam."
That's rubbish - he did not "side" with anyone. And whatever that guy thinks about fatwas and Irans treatment he was still right in what he said on that thread.
You are just displaying rightworld's tendency to use guilt by association, as well as to divide the world into teams and demanding that opposing "the other team" must extend even to denial of facts.
Frank,
I think you're doing Alison an injustice. She's a bit huffy and stuffy at times but her views are far from radical rightwing on the standard ATW scale. She's often quite subtle and sophisticated in her argumentation which would tend to contradict what you posted above. She's always around when there's some human interest story happening, and I have ample reason to believe that if she were better informed she'd be a bolshevik like the two of us...:)
Adrian,
Oh I know - I was just referring to that one post, nothing more.
It just came over as "If you agree with this guy (even when he's right) then you are agree with him on everything - you are on his side". That kind of thinking is almost hardwired into the conservative brain I think.
A Jew good in art, I never hear of a Jewish starving artist.