Judging Jewry

Judging Jewry

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Is the only lesson of history to be that man is unteachable? (Churchill)

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“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands… fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases… as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?”?

Shylock’s eloquence is not enough to save his reputation. The name has become an eponym for greed, ?his demand for a “pound of flesh” a synonym for revenge. While “The Merchant of Venice” was not written in animus, it reflected the times and has been fuel to the antisemite’s pyre.

But hatred and suspicion of Jews started long before Shakespeare. Being framed for the murder of Jesus Christ…it was of course the Romans...was enough to indict the entire Jewish population from the dawn of history. There is also the alleged refusal to convert to Christianity, a weak complaint given most Christians refuse to convert to Judaism. And then a variety of vacuous conspiracy theories ranging from local…Nathan Rothchild’s stock manipulation informed by prior knowledge of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo…to global…the Jews’ quest for world domination.

Throughout history, discrimination was widespread. Restrictions included the exclusion of Jews from the guild-controlled trades and prohibitions against serving as officers in the military or owning land. Jews were permitted to be managers, participate in the “free” professions such as medicine, law, journalism, business and art and were allowed to lend money at interest, an activity prohibited by many religions, including the Roman Catholics up to the 16th century.

Over the centuries, the relative importance of guild trades and land dependant farming declined and took a back seat to science, business, technology and entertainment, activities the Jews had been permitted to prosecute. The resultant concentration of effort generated expertise and resulted in Jews making great contributions in sectors critical to contemporary society.

In science, besides the obvious Albert Einstein there is Jennifer Doudna whose work on editing of DNA facilitated cures and vaccines and Serge Haroche with his breakthrough research on quantum optics. ?

In business there is Goldman Sachs and Pfizer, the New York Times and Joseph Pulitzer. In the consumer arena, Levi Strauss blue jeans, Calvin Klein underwear, Estee Lauder cosmetics and Starbucks Coffee. Significant technological contributions have come from Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, Sergei Brins Google, Michael Bloomberg’s data empire and Michael Dell’s personal computers.

The entertainment industry would be unrecognizable without the Jewish contribution. ?Warner Brothers, Metro Goldwyn Mayer and DreamWorks were all started by Jews. Content contributions have ranged from “Blazing Saddles” (Mel Brooks), “All in the Family” (Norman Lear),” Friends” (Kaufman and Crane), “Seinfeld (Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld) and “Saturday Night Live” (Lorne Michaels).

Chess had Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, literature Mordecai Richler and Franz Kafka, music Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Cohen and Frederic Chopin. Famous Jewish actors include Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix. Sports had Sandy Koufax, Mark Spitz, Bob Nystrom, Marty Turco and Michael Camilleri. Painting had Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall.

All this from the followers of Judaism, 0.2% of the world’s population. The same population that has been awarded 22% of the 965 Nobel prizes ever given, more than 100 times the achievement suggested by the size of the group.

It must be acknowledged, the Jews are, in many notable aspects, as flawed as other mortals. But the exceptional ?accomplishment from a miniscule fragment of mankind is remarkable. The Jewish contribution to society is extensive, documented and undeniable. It has enriched life experience, preserved wellbeing and delayed mortality. And all this from a group that has faced centuries of prejudice and struggled against enormous opposition.

And staggering ignorance.

A recent poll of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29, found 20% of the respondents thought the Holocaust was a myth. A further 30% weren’t sure. Such astonishing illiteracy is hard to understand and even harder to explain although there may be a clue to be gleaned from thoughtless, ill informed protest on college campuses and the recent Congressional testimony by leaders representing the Universities of ?Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT.

It’s also possible the hostility and casual prejudice find their root in a more banal, mortal defect wonderfully observed by Iago in Shakespeare’s “Othello”.

“O beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on. Trifles light as air are, to the jealous, confirmations, strong as proofs of holy writ.”

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