“Diaspora Boy” Contextualized
Now, you might think that as a fellow Non-Zionist Litvak, I might agree with Valley’s scathing sarcasm.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
True, I can’t help but remember a bitter debate that Eli Valley (who commented as “EV”) and I had versus the utter contempt displayed towards Diasporists by The Zionists, but I have changed since then. I have grown.
The Zionists are correct, and Eli Valley, wrong. Well, at least partially.
First of all, achievement must be measured according to ability. We have to remember that the fact that the average Israeli IQ is only 94 and the fact that the average American Ashkenazi IQ is the highest in the nation, between 112-115, does not mean that Israel doesn’t have many very talented and very bright people, who are doing great things in select sectors. And who says I.Q. means all that much in the first place? After all, Diaspora Jews might be better at curing diseases, composing symphonies, and writing books, but Israelis make much better taxi drivers ( or at least, do so more often) and are considered to look better in bathing suits, and if so, may perform better at frolicking in the sea, a skill (among many) not measurable by IQ tests.
Additionally, some of Israel’s weaknesses are structural and social, not inherent. For instance, the fact that Israel’s haredim abhor the work ethic doesn’t preempt that one day they could be productive members of society (in theory). And even Israeli music is making great strides as well, even if their most important musical contribution to the world in the past twenty years was popularizing Radiohead through their song “Creep,” it is no accident it was them as opposed to say, Syria, right? Also, Israeli cinema continues to get better and better at the high end, and who is to say that they won’t overtake Jewish dominated Hollywood by 2525 if Hollywood should stagnate during that period? And Israeli cinema still slaughters the movies coming out of any other Middle Eastern country, absolutely every single one (except Iran). And we must remember that while, yes, Israel allows (only some!) of her women to be forced to the back of select (nationally owned) bus lines, well, we had a similar problem even until the 60s. In parts of the south. So what if in terms of progress, they are going absolutely the wrong way?
So I have a new slogan to help with marketing efforts,
“Zionism…it’s still (relatively) successful…at least by Middle Eastern standards, except for the genocidal threat thing.”
8 comments
I feel discriminated against on account of my IQ.
Do EV’s parents also get to read his comics?
Pay no attention to IQ ratings. I score well above 160 without breaking a sweat and that’s after ten years of being married and working in tech support exposed to some of the dumbest questions and management concepts ever.
I owe it all to being encouraged to think from the time I was very small, very young.
Not think for myself as in consider everyone else’s ideas and then be purposely different. Just to think. Think all the time. Get yourself used to it. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t believe for a second that only someone else can do it. The idea should never enter your head that you can’t. Your first instinct should be to go to it.
While much of the charedi world is presently lambasted for a Borg-like mentality on many blogs, it does encourage thinking by accident. You actually have to start with the assumption that you can read Hebrew and Yiddish, that you can read Torah, etc.
This sort of thing may be a bit overdone in those circles compared to mainstream Observe-If-I-Feel-Like-It Judaism but the cultural effect has been achieved long long long since. In the embrace during diaspora of faith and learning of Torah, an assumption that Jews can learn was put into the culture.
That’s it. No eugenics. No careful marrying of daughters, no G-d’s Lottery Ticket, just a subconscious assumption of “can do”. A little of that and a little encouragement, and you get a statistical skewing.
Humans. They can hack their own minds just by the decisions they choose, the thoughts they have over time. “Think positive” isn’t just a slogan, it’s a truth.
All over the place much, Deek?
R’ Michoel Ber Wiessmandl told the israeli ambassador before Eichmans trial, “you have exchanged a world religion for another Paraguay.
Or to quote myself “israelis are such assholes people would hate them even if they weren’t jewish”.
I was tested to be 186; then again, IQ just determines the ability of thinking in mathematical logical terms; it’s no measure of emotional, social or creative intelligence. Child development research has shown that education plays a huge role in the development of intelligence as well as creativity and social skills; PISA has shown that children that come from traditional family structures scored best at learning assessment studies; they were up to six years ahead of studies as same-age peers. This also reflects in the school system we’ve got here where kids get divided up according to scholarly abilities after grade 4; lower average students at ‘Gymnasium’ have been determined to have IQs around 130. Alas, education is the responsibility of the federal states here, and the ones with socialist governments are trying “to open up” the educational system, which results in downgrading the individual degrees.
As for Israel, I know a few seriously brilliant people there (HUJI professors and thelike) that typically come from families where a lot of emphasis is placed on learning and creative thinking. Often their elders had been renowned academics in Europe as well. The comparatively low average IQ is caused by a demography that either cannot or doesn’t want to afford investing time into learning.
Mohammed, the Israeli ambassador at Eichman’s trial must have been quite surprised at Rabbi Wiessmandl’s statement bearing in mind that the rabbi had been dead for three years before Eichman’s capture. Perhaps the Israeli I Q is skewed by a certain segment’s within it, many of whose members are name Mohammed.
Reb Liebish
BEFORE can be 2000 years before too. I heard that they wanted him to testify by his trial. You claim he was dead first. It’s possible. History is not my forte.The israeli segment is skewed by the frenken, if it’s skewed at all. Having lived there for close to 8 years I think it makes sense as it is.
If you guys had a 186 IQ you would be able to do the math!
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