Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence

History of Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews have a rich history of notable achievements in various fields such as mathematics, natural sciences, business, media, and chess, particularly in Western societies. They have won a disproportionately large number of Nobel awards.

Historical records indicate that Jewish communities existed north of the Alps and Pyrenees as early as the 8th century, where they sought new economic opportunities and were often invited by local Christian rulers. In the 11th century, both Rabbinic Judaism and the culture of the Babylonian Talmud became established in southern Italy and spread north to 'Ashkenaz'.

Various massacres of Ashkenazi Jews occurred during the Crusades, including the Rhineland massacres of 1096, which devastated Jewish communities along the Rhine River, including the cities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. These cities played a major role in the formation of Ashkenazi Jewish religious tradition.

By the 15th century, the Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Poland were the largest Jewish communities of the Diaspora. This area, which eventually fell under the domination of Russia, Austria, and Prussia (Germany), remained the main center of Ashkenazi Jewry until the Holocaust.

In the generations after emigration from the west, Jewish communities in places like Poland, Russia, and Belarus enjoyed a comparatively stable social environment. A thriving publishing industry and the printing of hundreds of biblical commentaries precipitated the development of the Hasidic movement and major Jewish academic centers.

Jewish Achievements

According to a study by Cambridge University, 21% of Ivy League students, 25% of the Turing Award winners, 23% of the wealthiest Americans, 38% of the Oscar-winning film directors, and 29% of Oslo awardees are Ashkenazi Jews. Jews have also been over-represented among the richest people in the world, with 10 out of the 50 wealthiest individuals being Ashkenazi Jews.

Studies on Ashkenazi Jewish People as a Race

The use of race in research or medicine is often criticized for reifying it as having more biological significance than it deserves. Sander Gilman argues that the notion of Jewish intelligence rests on individual accomplishments, which may be a reflex of a culture of learning and performance by individuals in a specific Diaspora situation.

Shmuley Boteach suggests that Jewish success is due to an emphasis on textual study and education, and unique values like rejecting aristocracy in favor of a meritocracy and an emphasis on spiritual struggle rather than perfection.

Gavin Evans wrote in The Guardian that the revival of 'race science' has been controversial, with figures like Nicholas Wade being criticized for misappropriating research. The University of Chicago geneticist Jerry Coyne described Wade's work as "bad science".

In Popular Culture

Until the 20th century, the characterization of Ashkenazi Jews in American literature was largely based on stereotypes employed in English literature. Jews were often portrayed as overly ambitious and threateningly successful, seen as a threat to American culture because of their rapid social and economic mobility, yet unable to fully assimilate.

References

This article "Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Farbsteinism
• Jews and Communism
• Luftgeschaeft
• Israelites (religion)
• Jennie Miller Faggen
• Levi Sanders
• Kurdish Impact on Palestine

---