Jews Are Successful And Smart But Not God’s Chosen People

There’s a lot of literature out there that shows that Jews are smarter than other people, but I think that whatever they have achieved could be achieved by others. People have all sorts of racially biased stories that project some quality onto some other people, and this isn’t any different.

Generally speaking, there is just enough evidence to make the story believable that Jews are special, but when understood at large, the claim is invalid. Humans have a very difficult time comprehending large numbers of people or facts -- so all someone needs to do is show you a list of 5 or 10 people and then claim that 15 million or so people are just like that. Hardly statistically relevant. Totally skewed by something called "Availability bias".

Some people quote Bible and Quran verses and conclude that Jews are better in the eyes of God than others. According to Islam, God sent a prophet to every people. However, the first people to accept and worship Him were the Jews. So, he rewarded them. But God loves all His creations, and we are all equal in his eyes!

Yes, Jews are influential and have contributed enormously to the world. If you want to look at the influence of Jews, the answer gets way longer, encompassing, for example, the modern movie industry, nuclear power, and nuclear weaponry, and enough in the arts and sciences. The world has seen influential Jews such as: Mark Zuckerberg, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Soros,e.t.c.

All but two or maybe three of the top physicists who created the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb were Jewish Nobel Prize winners. It was a Jew, Leo Szilard, who in 1939 discovered the chain reaction, wrote a letter to Albert Einstein that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb.

In USA politics, Sheldon Adelson, Bernard Marcus and Paul Singer were Donald Trump's biggest supporters, and as such dictated what his foreign policy was,in regard to the Middle East. This influence wasn't limited to Trump as it’s believed that every President and Member of Congress is funded and directed by rich Jews on either side of the political divide. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) controls Congress one way or the other. President Joe Biden’s cabinet has a lot of powerful Jews, but what’s stopping other people from influencing US politics? What's stopping others from making powerful friends?

CHOSEN PEOPLE
Since the consolidation of Judaism, Jews have declared themselves as "The Chosen People”. In fact, they were the first to do so, followed by Christianity and Islam which emerged from Judaism saying they were replacing the monotheistic Judaism as the chosen people.

Thus, throughout history many civilizations which consider themselves as "The Chosen People" signify the most dangerous enemy - the Jews, since there cannot be two chosen people. Hitler himself noted in his book “Mein Kampf” that only the inhalation of the Jews can solve this “selected people dilemma”.

Surprisingly, "the selected people dilemma" is still relevant today - more than once on the podium of the United Nations it arouses fierce debates with politicians and world leaders. For example, there were no diplomatic ties between Israel and the Vatican - until this dilemma was settled when Judaism was declared as the elder brother of Christianity.

This innocent statement, without any validity and seemingly childish (to my ears, at least), is now being used by people who see themselves as having upgraded their statuses. For example, the Banyarwanda and some tribes in Nigeria consider themselves as a bit ‘Jewish’ and ‘special’ because of their successes.

The Jews came to realize that if people think they are that powerful, then sometimes it can turn out quite useful. The Balfour Declaration of 1917, for example, a supportive document in favour of a Jewish state, which considered one of the main cornerstones of building the state of Israel, was given by the British Empire (among other reasons, of course), in the belief that the Jews, as part of their mythical influence and their superhuman impact on the USA will convince America to join WWI alongside with Britain.

However, many great Jews were not originally Jewish. For example, Rabbi Akiva was born a non-Jew but became the Jewish people’s leading teacher in his time. King David, renowned as Israel's greatest king, had a non-Jewish great grandmother, Ruth. Also, Onkelos, a well-known Torah commentator, was originally a Roman who converted to Judaism and translated the Torah into Aramaic, a translation that is highly regarded to this day. Becoming a great Jew, therefore, has no connection to whether or not one was born Jewish.

WHY ARE THEY REALLY SUCCESSFUL
Jews are successful and it's not by miracle – they do things that other people rarely do. First of all, by tradition, Jews have been blessed with high levels of education. Much of how an individual thinks is down to education, and since that is high on the agenda of most Jewish people one would expect a Jew (but not necessarily a Jew) to think in a sophisticated way.

Late Sulaiman Kiggundu of Greenland once said, " Everything can be taken away from me, even my life. But what I know will stay with me."

When I was looking for undergraduate funding here in the UK, I found a lot of Jewish foundations that sponsor students from tuition, accommodation to living allowances, but most Muslim organisations don’t cover all areas.

Maybe this is what is missing from the lives of some of us; namely a wide, explorative education where FREE thought is encouraged.

Secondly, Jews are united as an ethnic group, go figure what smart and united can do. If you're Jewish and broke, it will be Jewish people that will help you because they stick with each other. As Jacob Weisberg and other Jewish writers acknowledge, Jews have a tremendous sense of responsibility to other Jews; indeed, most regard one another as members of the same tribe, and there is even a cultural and religious edict that requires them to aid other Jews: “By virtue of being a Jew one is responsible for the well-being of other Jews, and vice versa”

So, when they help create an industry or become powerful in their respective professions (e.g. a casting director), most feel compelled to hire fellow Jews and afford their fellow “tribal members” opportunities they might not offer non-Jews. It would be absurd to suggest that a director would cast an unqualified applicant, but if confronted with several superlative applicants, he will surely choose his fellow Jew.

As an African Ugandan Muslim Muganda, I'm acutely aware of the desire to help fellow tribal and religious members. It is in this manner that Jews become disproportionately represented in the aforesaid powerful professions. It isn't “intellectual dominance” or any special drive or ability, it is simple favouritism and tribal nepotism. A lot of African leaders have successfully followed this same approach in their government positions allocations.

But here's the part you need to understand carefully: When anyone tells you "Group X is smarter than you" or "Group Y controls what you want”, they are really saying that "you are excluded from this privilege" and they want you to feel resentful. They are giving you an excuse for not striving hard and creating a phantom reason for your suffering. So, we all just have to be strategic in our thinking, and maybe we all be somehow successful.

*Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba*
Stalk my blog at: http://semuwemba.wordpress.com

"Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive." - Henry Steele Commager 1902-98