Nobel Jews - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

Nobel Jews

Monday, October 23, 2017 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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It is not politically correct to even hint at the possibility that one ethnic group excels over others. This is probably why few would mention the fact that 37 percent of 2017 Nobel Prize winners are Jews.

Explanations for this disproportionate Jewish contribution to humanity often speak of Jewish genius. Though those discussing the matter likely have no inkling of it, this is probably the closest rational explanation for the manifestation of what the Bible calls "God's chosen people."

This genius should not be confused with biology. It can't be found in Jewish genes or DNA. But it is this notion of biological elitism that leads so many to view Judaism as a racist religion. Instead, we say that this disproportionate distribution of genius is a sign of a people marked by God. Much like Cain's mark, it symbolizes an unbreakable covenant between God and Israel in service to the greater goal of improving all life on earth. And that this covenant is with all Israel is demonstrated by the fact that most of those Jews winning Nobel prizes are anything but religious.

Of the 11 people to receive Nobel prizes this year, Rainer Weiss (Jewish father), Barry Barish, Michael Rosbash and Richard Thaler are Jews. Weiss and Barish, who shared the prize in physics with Kip Thorne, won the Nobel "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves." Michael Rosbash, who shared the prize in medicine with Jeffrey Hall and Michael Young, won the Nobel for his "discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm." Thaler won the prize in economics "for his contributions to behavioral economics."

This Jewish achievement is all the more remarkable considering the dramatic increase in global population, of which the percentage of Jews has dramatically decreased. A mere two-tenths of one percent of all people living today are Jews. This means that the number of Jews receiving the Noble Prize is some 20,000 percent higher than their proportional number. Jews should not hide their sense of pride in this remarkable achievement, yet they will do well to remember that "it is He who gives you the strength, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors."

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