Why are jewish/israeli people so successful ?

[Kanumuri]

Hi,

I am not Jewish, but I am very curious about why Jewish/Israeli people in general are so successful, if not remarkably smart and ambitious. Regardless of their socioeconomic background, these individuals seem to be outliers in any field they are in, specifically the business world.

Look at history, and you see that many figures that dominate commerce and other figures that have achieved prominence in their field, are mostly Jewish.

It does not matter whether it is the group that was born to privileged families that founded Facebook, or some poor orphan child that rises from poverty to wealth, such as Roman Abramovich or the founder of Starbucks.

What is the secret in this community ? I'd like to know because I'd like to raise my offspring the same way.

What is the culture that is embedded in the children since the very beginning ?

Please be specific in your answers.

[Mark R. Jeffrey]

They do for self and kind.

They help each other while everyone else is busy being hateful and envious.

[Mark]

Because an emphasis on learning in common in the Jewish religion, so much so that traditionally on the first day of school, parents would give their kids a spoonful of honey "because learning is so sweet".

Israelis, not so much. (Israel is a country, not a religion.) But Israel is remarkably plucky - a VERY small country surrounded on 3 1/2 sides by hostile people. You could always write to an Israeli embassy to answer why "sabras" are so, though you might actually get a real answer and not just conjecture on Y!A, which I am sure is infinitely more amusing to you.

[Mr. Smartypants]

There are two theories that I've heard. One is just evolution--for centuries the slower, stupider Jews were caught and murdered, only the smart ones survived. The other is that the Jewish culture emphasizes scholastic achievement--much like East Asians and South Asians, who also do very well in the West.

[EndlessJester]

Because they are allowed to be close knit, reclusive, and stay together shunning the outside world. Most other Americans and whites are not allowed this luxury.

Having "multiculturalism and "mixing" being rammed down their throat 24/7, they are not afforded the ability to work together slowly like Jews.

[Aleah]

They work together. Their culture is very collective. They fund their own Jewish day schools, Jewish hospitals, Jewish charities. Their culture in itself lead them to be successful. They study and work their way up. A Jew will always look out for a fellow Jew. I admire them.