A lot of people are talking about David Brooks’s distastefully-smug column in the Times yesterday about Jewish achievement, in which he says that we are 2 percent of the U.S. population and 25 percent of this and that. And that we get all the patents in the Middle East while the Arabs smoke hookahs.
He asks how this can be, and talks about our incredible culture. I agree: it’s a helluva bookish culture. Though that same intellectual culture is going out the window now that the chief occupation of Jewish leadership is saying, Repeat after us, apartheid is democracy.
But I’d like to inject a realistic note here. How much of Jewish achievement reflects the fact that Jews look out for one another? When I had to get a partner on this website to keep it going, I was most comfortable getting another Jew. Years ago when I was at the Harvard Crimson newspaper, my Irish-Catholic friend Mary Ridge informed me that it was a "Jewish club"–we selected for our own kind; and the Crimson produced a lot of professional journalism talent. I have gotten most of my journalism work from Jewish bosses.
Jews have kinship networks as strong as other people’s, maybe more strong. All that Hollywood talent– producers are always aware of who is a Jew, and I am sure they feel more comfortable hiring Jews. Landsman. My parents liked the idea of my marrying a Jew because Jews are gemutlich, as my mom always says– family, kin. We know all the social cues, can finish one another’s sentences, etc.
And look at the New York Times, where Brooks works. Is it an expression of Jewish genius that most of the political columnists are Jewish? Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, David Brooks et al. Or does it maybe reflect the fact that a Jewish family has majority ownership of the newspaper and that most of the big editors have been Jewish and at some level, unconscious or otherwise, they favor Jews?
So I think some of the amazing record of Jewish achievement reflects discrimination; and Jews are powerful enough in this society that we ought to be conscious of that. Brooks has often praised the late sociologist E. Digby Baltzell, and Baltzell said as much about the last establishment; he said that WASPs favor other WASPs, and that it was hurting the American establishment.
I venture that the same thing is happening today in the Jewish portion of the establishment. We discriminate in favor of our own; and it’s doing a number on foreign policy.
What should be done about this? Jews in powerful positions should be aware of this, and seek greater diversity in their hiring.
[Update: earlier version said Nick Kristof of NYT is Jewish. I'm informed I'm wrong--judged the book by its cover. Apologies.]
I considered the Brooks article to be a confirmation of themes that you’ve expressed here, particularly his reflection that the values of “bookishness” that are diaspora virtues and of association (anarchist “mutual aid” voluntary associations) were NOT the virtues of original Zionism or until recently modern Zionism.
That Israel had created a “new man” (rugged sabra), then rejected that for a new “new man” (commerical chutzpah, questioning authority). Maybe you don’t spend much time with new economy types, Silicon Valley, 495 loop, new wealth sustainable entrepreneurs.
On picking a Jewish partner for a dissenting blog/news site, that makes objective sense. The ownership of the site has expanded over a couple years, with new stakeholders (that you are in fact obligated to in some respect).
On the natural inclination to hire likeminded, I’m certain that if you felt an affinity with a Quaker, or Unitarian, or ethical atheist, that you would link with them and form associations that reflected your commonality. You, nor I, only have fundamental things in common with Jews, more than obviously.
I work for and with a few Jews in the sustainable development world. I feel a camraderie with them certainly. We share not only a single interest in the subject matter, but multiple personal associations that multiply, landsmen. Vegetarian, Jewish, designers, meditators. Working enthusiastically collaboratively with non-vegetarian, non-Jewish, designers, non-meditators.
Recall Maureen Dowd on Safire?
Lifestyle choices are really the ultimate values in life, aren’t they Richard. Our lifestyle choices and achievements tell the world, and ourselves, just who we are. Beside them, principles are as so many sheets of toilet paper.
But excuse me, I’m sure I could never plumb the surface of your values.
Don’t forget the disproportionately Jewish ownership of the Dutch West Indies Company. The outfit that was responsible for an estimated 70% or more of all the African Slave Trade.
Many prosperous Jewish American merchants can attribute their wealth by their participation in the African Slave trade.
And later the Jews were at the forefront for the fight for Civil Liberties for African Americans.
Jews conquered and occupied Palestine, but Palestinians do not fear cause now that injustice will end by virtue of Jews leading the effort for Palestinian rights
We can do it guys! Jew Jew Jew
“Jews conquered and occupied Palestine,”
Gosh, thanks for the high opinion of our martial capabilities, but I think that was the British, guy by the name of Allenby or similar. Said gaining Palestine for Britain was the summit of his career, or maybe that was a British colonial governor. At any rate, things went immediately and steadily downhill.
Isn’t that always the story of British colonialism? It’s starting to feel to me like the US and Canada are still reeling from it.
Yet, while Britain for the most part has long since laid down the white man’s burden, the US has been most happy to pick it back up.
Reeling? Yes, particularly the American citizens who bear the financial costs of empire at the expense of decent social services.
So I think some of the amazing record of Jewish achievement reflects discrimination;
This is indeed a sad reality. Jews were historically discriminated against in the US for decades, and when the country became more progressive in its cultural attitudes, a soft bigotry prevailed. Jews in power would only hire other Jews for power positions — I know many Gentiles who will tell you their careers have been studded with Mary Ridge moments: they’ve lost opportunities to Jewish candidates.
David Brooks’ column was appalling on so many levels, and I’m astounded he didn’t have the intelligence or the gravitas to realize how it would come off to the other 98% of the population. Brooks apparently believes that by bragging that the 2% of Jews are allocated 1/4 of the Ivy League slots, the rest of the world can be so bedazzled by this privilege that it can ignore the sub-human ugliness that is occurring in Palestine in the name of the “Jewish state.” If he reads his own comments section on the web version of the column, he’ll realize how ham-handed and wrongheaded his piece was.
Yes, by all means, read the reader-recommended comments section for this article:
link to community.nytimes.com
Nearly every single reader-recommended comment basically says, “WTF, dude? Israel couldn’t have done any of this without American patronage and the subjugation of the Palestinian people.”
We the People are starting to catch on.
link to
Now that Israel is doing so well financially, Israel and its supporters should be zealously turning down the billions of dollars of aid the United States — which is not doing so well — gives it every year.
Maybe that tells you that there’s not much substance under the glitz of Israeli success.
Has any Jewish pundit ever, EVER written a column expressing gratitude for the gifts bestowed on Jews by the countries to which Jews have voluntarily migrated (Abraham; Jews in alliance with Muslims/Arabs to Andalusia), fled to escape their own kin (Joseph; later, Russia), been exiled (10,000 Israeli elite, by Nebuchadnezzar), or made deals with the government (Khazar, Poland), or found shelter as well as favorable economic opportunities (Italy, Germany, Russia, US).
On what date do Jews celebrate a Thanksgiving for all the good things they have been given by the numerous host- countries to which they have VOLUNTARILY migrated, and from whom they have, for the most part, TAKEN far more than they have returned?
Rabbi Isaac Zirfati wrote in his letter to his Jewish brethren of Germany in approx 1454:
“I, Isaac Zarfati, though I spring from a French stock, yet I was born in Germany, and sat there at the feet of my esteemed teachers. I proclaim to you that Turkey is a land wherein nothing is lacking, and where, if you will, allshallyet be well with you. The way to the Holy Land lies open to you through Turkey. Is it not betterfor you to live under Muslims than under Christians? Here every man dwell at peace under his own Dine and fig tree. Here you are allowed to wear the most precious garments. ”
from : Bernard Lewis, “The Jews of Islam” pp. 135 – 136 (1984, Princeton University Press)
Now we have “Danny” Ayalon playing adolescent games with the Turkish envoy on television.
Oscar, baby, give it time, man, I can assure you, that no matter what combination of abilities and cooperation put Jewish people into better positions, ther are a crop of smart, co-operative, book-loving Asians, Hipanics, Blacks, Near-Middle-and-Far Eastern kids coming up who will not be denied!
“Has any Jewish pundit ever, EVER written a column expressing gratitude for the gifts bestowed on Jews by the countries to”
Oh, I don’t know, wasn’t it one of those liberal Jewish ladies who scrawled something on a stupid copper staue in the NY harbor? But you are right, most Jews spend their time cursing theGoldenah Medina. Heard it all the time growing up: “A broch tzu Columbus!!“
link to nps.gov
Hey, readers, check closely into the Jewish lady and her full POV and its impact on the masses, the one who “scrawled something”on the Statute Of Liberty.
Phil,
You raise an interesting point about tribal favoritism, and I’d like your help in getting my thinking in order about the fact that it appears the people that were at the center of (a) the economic collapse and (b) the econonic recovery are all Jewish.
Greenspan, Bernanke, Rubin, Summers, Geithner, Gensler, Feinberg (who am I missing?).
I want to look at this situation rationally. I genuinely do not want to jump to conclusions that would even have a whiff of anti-semitism because I do not want to offend any of my Jewish friends. I am truly asking for genuine advice on how one should interpret the rather obvious concentration of Jewish people at the helm of the major US economic institutions.
Should I look at this state of affairs and think:
(a) Wow, what a coincidence.
(b) I’m not surprised considering David Brooks’ article about the premium placed on education in the Jewish culture and the intelligence and motivation of Jewish people. The cream will rise to the top. I’m glad we live in a meritocracy.
(c) I’m not surprised considering the information in the Brooks article that 25 percent of Ivy Leaguers are Jewish. The best educated and best trained will get these important jobs and thank goodness for that. I want a Cpt. Sullenberger at the helm.
(d) I’m concerned that the common denominator for a top job in these institutions appears to be affiliation with Harvard or Goldman Sachs or Chicago.
(e) I’m concerned that perhaps Jewishness is the determining factor for who gets hired and fired at the top. It is not a meritocracy. It’s an ethnocracy. It’s Serbia.
The advantage of (d) and (e) , of course, is that it allows the small group of people working in such a pressure cooker to have utmost confidence and instant trust in one another. Close kinship means there is no fear of leaks or back-stabbing. Again, I think you need that to operate in such an environment. You don’t have five or six years to first build up trust with the people you depend on the most. It has to be instant. I understand that. In terms of (e), I understand that in the Jewish community there are certain codes of conduct which is conducive to such instant trust building. For example, I came across some observations which state that in the Jewish community, revealing something embarrasing in front of the goyim is considered a no-no. Furthermore, there is, quite understandably, considering the historical context, an undergirding empathy between Jews where one looks after the other. Jewish Solidarity. How could there not be, considering the world was out to destroy them just a generation ago? So, again, the central issue is the necessity of having instant trust in such a pressure cooker.
Problem is, such an approach, the establishment of a team based on instant trust based on tribal identities, means that everyone in this little tight knit group will cover for each other and serve the interests of the small group and not the American people as a whole. Isn’t that what they were appointed for?
My final question: How much accountability has there been over the last year?
It’s uncomfortable for non-Jews to talk about but… you know… Koozie has a point. It’s kind of hard to miss the fact that Joe Lieberman pretty much backstabbed the Democratic Party and was still favored with Senate chairmanships. And then, during the health care debate when Lieberman was torpedoing cloture on the public option, Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod decided not to go after him, but after Howard Dean for speaking out about how the reform effort had been sabotaged and the Senate bill needed to be scratched.
When you are talking about about “IQ” and success, you are talking about Ashkenazi culture, not Jewish culture.
Even Ashkenazi culture needs to be revised as Israeli students rank last in science, math
“Close kinship means there is no fear of leaks or back-stabbing.”
You haven’t worked much with Jews, have you?
LOL, I know the truth of what Mooser implies regarding inside Jewish disputes. I once worked (briefly–I didn’t like their practical implementation) for my Jewish Brother In Law’s partnership, and watched the Jewish “brothers” dissolve into great battles–The Jewish P/S turned from a happy marriage to a cruel divorce, especially as it impacted on their respective children, all pure Jewish of course. I also saw it in
the Jewish retail drug store business, where I also worked for a time (for free, to
help my ailing Jewish family in laws). The larger point Mooser misses in his attempt at a joke, is that it’s 10X worse when the Jews relate in the professions or simple business with Gentiles–much worse for the Gentiles.
Geithner is not Jewish.
Tzvee has a list of people on his blog who he investigates for allegations of Jewishness
link to tzvee.blogspot.com
Sorry wrong link for Geitner
link to tzvee.blogspot.com
“I venture that the same thing is happening today in the Jewish portion of the establishment. We discriminate in favor of our own; and it’s doing a number on foreign policy.”
If you are giving Jews credit for Hollywood and the entertainment media, then Jews also get a fiar amount of credit for the number being done on the culture at large.
Either way, I’m surprised that you are being so candid. It beats crocodile tears over Palestine. Kudos, Phil.
“If you are giving Jews credit for Hollywood and the entertainment media, then Jews also get a fiar amount of credit for the number being done on the culture at large”
Yup, if it wasn’t for Jews, those bosoms and derrieres wouldn’t be plastered all over your TV, encouragin’ those youngin’s inta doin’ what comes natcherl!
Except for Country Music, which remains alone unsullied by the eternal Jew! Until you find out Jerry Seinfeld is doing a country CD- “A Salute to Kinky Friedman”!!
Mein Gott! They are everywhere! Laurence Welk would know how to deal with that scum! But “Laurence”, hmmm, does that sound Jewish to you?
More lame jokes. Do you deny that most of what comes out of Hollywood or the entertainment media is garbage? If Phil is right, and the shoe fits, then why not wear it? The least we can do is examine the shoe.
“Do you deny that most of what comes out of Hollywood or the entertainment media is garbage?”
How in the hell would I know? You don’t think I watch the stuff, do you? For all I know, it might be better than the quality of your reasoning, which is abysmal.
If I could find a “Genie” or “Beverly Hillbillies” re-run right now I’d be glued to the set, And I can’t start practising til the dog gets up. Screw this, I’m waking her up, and kicking her out (all I have to do is hit the “start” switch, something in there drives her nuts, she’ll leave)
Just commenting on what you described, Mooser.
Mooser likes to blast the Jews as an insider, and then blast the Gentiles who
supplement his feeble Jokes with their own experience real or vicarious. He hates everybody, and rightfully so, as far as he goes–not really very far, for to do so, would give actual meaning to the term “individual.” True, it’s a lonely post, way up there on the Maslow triangle apex. But give Mooser credit, he’s trying, at least in his own mind.
“We know all the social cues, can finish one another’s sentences, etc.”
Oh, that’s exactly how I want to feel on my wedding day, like my wife could, and would, finish my sentences. It sounds like a Dantean circle of hell reserved for those who marry for advantage, then murder their mates.
now now, Mooser, that will never do: relying on a fine Eye-taliyun for a high-sounding analogy.
So Mooser’s not married; he says so himself; he’s fine, but would like to marry himself and kick his gentile SO to the curb.
Isn’t there a conflict here? I thought nepotism and discrimination got in the way of a meritocracy? Right, that is what we are talking about, right, when you get rid of all the stupid “kinship networks” jive? It’s called nepotism, and discrimination.
And those are used to advance less qualified people, not as an aid to the meritorious, who could, rise by their own merit, right?
So which is it, kids? Are Jews more meritorious (Good! Yah merit) or do Jew practice nepotism and discrimination (Boo! Bad!)?
I think Phil is trying to say that by practising nepotism and (possibly) outright discrimination, Jews are not helping themselves, even tho he is prepared to admit he thinks he has been a beneficiary of it. That’s what I get.
I agree. That was my read of the article too — that Mr. Weiss considers David Brooks’ article to be self defeating.
It’s like when Witty drones on and on about “Jewish AND democratic.” Is it really democratic when the democracy is allowed to exist only as long as Jews are the majority voting population? Likewise with this. It’s not a meritocracy if the first thing that gets you in the door is your religion/race/whatnot.
what gets my goat is that Puritan WASPs actually believe in a meritocracy and work to stamp out nepotism. In spouse’s firm, a son/daughter was at a disadvantage for getting a job in the same industry; he/she had to make his own way. When Son #2 completed high school with an off-the-charts QPA and near-perfect SATs, he was advised NOT to seek a college scholarship because he’d already been gifted with the gift of high intelligence. damn, what a mistake.
The difference is not that Jews are smarter than any other GROUP (yes, Mooser, Brooks said GROUP), but that they are masters of advertising, false or otherwise. Please pass the Bernays sauce.
Mooser, wake up, it’s just another version of shoot and wail. Nepotism=bad, discrimination=bad; yet they are simply variants of each other; Phil just wants to have his cake and eat it too–same as you, nicht wahr? In contrast, the WASPS
eventually actually implemented the principle of meritocracy to their own practical disadvantage–case in point: Ask Phil’s wife.
Not all, but part of that 2% of the population, has turned Congress into Israel’s fifth column in the US. Does Brooks take credit for the continuing success of the occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians?
What can one say about an ostensible meritocracy that produces the likes of David Brooks and Tom Friedman? If the award of the Pulitzer Prize is a measure of success, Friedman is certainly at the pinnacle of his profession. But he is incapable of writing a column that is not peppered with cliches and non sequiturs, and his deficiencies as a public speaker are even more embarassing. Similarly, Brooks’ column expounding on Jewish achievement reads like string of adolescent boasts, capped off with a reminder that we really shouldn’t put off bombing Iran for another year lest we put the ecstasy labs in Israel at risk. What an ass.
So what is everyone else doing? While “the Jews” use their kinship etc to move forward, whats keeping other people from coming up? Seems to me, if you’re going to be apathetic, can you really blame anyone who isn’t?
So, when the WASP secret-handshake society was busy keeping Jews out of Harvard, low Jewish enrollment wasn’t due to prejudicial admissions policies but Jewish apathy? Fascinating.
Doesn’t look like they were hindered by any apathy. Or do you think the WASPs decided that all on their lonesome?
That should read: or do you think the WASPs decided to forego that all on their lonesome?
No, they didn’t decide to forego their privilege on their lonesome as you put it. The doors were kicked open on account of a variety of factors including the civil rights movements, pragmatic recognition that America’s continued success depended on recruiting the ‘best and brightest’ from all social and economic strata (i.e. adoption of meritocratic principles), etc. Your espousal of ‘kinship’ as the basis for commercial relationships and professional advancement is completely at odds with a meritocracy, but, again, it would seem to explain the prominence and success of Thomas Friedman, David Brooks, Lawrence Summers, Adam Sandler, Bernard Madoff . . . . …..
Good point. The knife cuts both ways, after all.
I can’t really speak for anything other than white Midwestern urban society with any sort of personal authority, but I can tell you my social group is disintegrating rapidly. I see three major categories… those who are “fighting” to preserve “white power,” those who distract themselves with various anesthetics — television, video games, drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. — and those who sometimes wish they weren’t white.
Although to be fair, being Catholic I’m not technically speakin WASP.
To be fair to your own, and I agree with your parsing of same, Chaos, what other group besides liberal whites does anything but
play identity politics all the same?
whatsizname’s article (I’ve been calling his Friedman in several comments, but of course the miscreant is Brooks. But then, what’s the difference? They’re both superior Jews, no?) is good news: zionists are getting desperate.
When every other argument fails, when every possible American political office and institution and major media outlet has its resident zionist or, at least, a behind-the-scenes zionist monitor, and still, STILL the world is not buying the Israel brand, that’s when zionists roll out the dreaded LIST. It happens regularly on the Orange boy’s advertising site; if the criticisms have been particularly harsh and Haaretz finds itself compelled to respond in some way that reshapes the critique in a way designed to salve the damaged Israeli psyche, dime to donuts at least three commentors will haul out the LIST.
It would be merely sad if Israel were not also killing people and threatening to kill even more.
“STILL the world is not buying the Israel brand”
You are right. It’s just an illusion that the Israeli economy is red hot and there are more new hi tech startups in Israel than France and Germany put together.
great. so
1. Israel will no longer need US taxpayer money;
2. Israel will no longer need access to the US federal reserve credit window (a boon not granted to any other foreign state);
3. Israel will no longer need to have US taxpayers pay the salaries of people like Stuart Levey, whose job it is to destroy the economies of Israel’s competition.
4. Since Israel is doing so well, it can pay the $1 billion judgment a court in Belgium decreed that Israel owes to Iran
5. Israel, being so prosperous, can pay its settlers to remove themselves from occupied territories and NOT call upon the international community to help pay the tab.
6. Since Israel is so successful at turning technology into cash, they should have no problem returning to Gaza control of the multi-billion dollar natural gas resource in Gaza’s shoreline.
Besides, how can anyone be proud of creating a success on stolen property? And how hard is it, after all, to experience success and prosperity when the ground it’s built upon is stolen, and the defense of it is paid by others?
Yep. Julian actually fantasizes that Israel’s successes are made on its own, as if it’s not a legacy beneficiary just like Bush Jr. Kick out the US financial support for Israel, and the US “moral” support as shown by what proportion of US UNSC
vetoes benefiting nobody but Israel, and what do you have? A welfare beggar wearing the mask of a self-made Man.
Brooks doesn’t hold a candle to Chris Hedges for insight or moral rectitude.
One thumps his chest; the other thumps the culture and foreign policy currently in control of the chest-thumpers.
link to pulsemedia.org
Does anyone remember a similarly arrogant column written by a WASP about how wonderful they were? (Sincere question, BTW.) Or was it assumed? I am not old enough to have known about this.
A small note on bookishness. The Belgian newspaper I’m subscribed to very often interprets things from an Israeli narrative. There’s a variety for reasons for that. It also pays a lot of attention to literature, and Grossman and Oz can do no wrong. I think these two writers are huge assets in the ‘number one’ area(Israel rocks), appealing to bookish people all over the world. I’m not sure if I should blame them but in any case, I think it sucks.
It warms my heart to hear Phil wallowing in self hatred and make excuses for Jewish success.
And it warms mind to know that Phil is not a pompous legacy guy like Bush Jr. Born on third base, still wailing nobody pitches a ball to him. It’s not 1936 Germany, nor
(as late as 1945) USA; it’s the sequel. Nobody has more birth rights by American and Israeli culture and the full power of both regimes and MSMs than: Jews. Jews are always still victims, and so is Israel. No matter how many facts mount up, nobody
notices the clock has moved on and it’s now 2010.
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There has long been a theory, perhaps over the years the most influential and seriously taken in sociology of religion, associated with Weber and Tawney (I don’t recall their specific ideas and differences), that economic development was crucially due to liberation from the restrictions of Catholicism and the rise of a Protestant work ethic. Maybe we should have spoken more of the ‘Protestant-Jewish ethic’ and of liberation from the symbiotic restrictiveness and medievalism of Catholicism and Islam.
Whether these specific ideas contained some truth or were and are complete rubbish I don’t know but I’d say we can’t close our minds to the generic possibility that cultural evolution proceeds by some groups getting ahead of others. Freud thought that his fellow Jews were making exceptional contributions to all the arts and sciences. He seemed to think of the Jews as a cultural rather than as a biological group and explained their successes by suggesting that they were motivated by an especially raging inherited sense of guilt.
When Jewish culture takes, for good reasons or strange reasons, forms actually beneficial to the whole human race we should accept that fact with gratitude or, if we call ourselves Jewish, a little pride. If it takes forms that are unjust and violent we should not flinch from acknowledging that fact either.
So, let’s see, check out the comments to this repeat of Phil’s article on another web site:
link to alethonews.wordpress.com
As a culture, if Jews are as smart as they claim to be, Zionism would have been discarded long ago. Rampant and fervent nationalism of any stripe is a sign of deep and ingrained stupidity, not intelligence.
cvillej- Maybe Jews are smart as individuals, but not as a culture. The Jewish culture might be slow to change and slow to recover from adversity. The Jewish culture may be overly obsessed with memory and roots, both of which are part and parcel of the nationalistic impulse.
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