Being ProSemitic: Can’t we all just get along?

Thank you for letting us brag a bit about the contribution Jewish people have made to our world.

All we wanted to do with our Prosemitism articles was explain how this little 0.2 percent of the world’s population have made our world better, probably more than any other minority group that small. We know you have opinions about the Middle East and Jewish-Israeli’s role in the successes and failures there. We know sometimes Jewish people’s hard work and success in business and industry produce jealousy and animosity in others. But just so you know, our little number happen to be very philanthropic with their wealth. According to Forbes, two of the top five of the world’s philanthropists (who each have given tens of billions of dollars to worthy causes) are Jewish. Our little number of people tend to work hard and believe in being helpful to others.

We know many of you never even met someone who is of a different faith than you. We won’t inundate you with any more articles about Jewish inventors, Jewish scientists and doctors, Jewish artists, etc. For now we’ll just leave you with the fact that our little 0.2 percent of people on the planet are proud to have among them over 200 Nobel Prize winners; some of the greatest minds with a huge impact, like Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk and Henry Kissinger; some of the greatest artists with a presence in museums of art, entertainment and music; Jewish-Israelis who continue to create scientific and technological breakthroughs while navigating life in a very dangerous part of the world; and if you indeed have met Jewish men and women, then you know people who are generous and caring, and people who value education and moral standards. And, yes, you’re thinking our little 0.2 percent also have among them some notoriously bad people like Jeffrey Epstein and Bernie Madoff. (Every minority cringes when one of its own embarrasses them.)

We’ll leave you for now with a few thoughts. Can you let good people who were born into a family or converted into a religion different from your own, just live their lives peacefully as your neighbors? Do you agree that any people representing such a small percentage of the world’s population should be proud when they represent such a large set of successful people in prestigious professions? Aren’t we all just trying to provide for ourselves and our families by taking advantage of our natural abilities and learned skills?

And then there’s that famous quote, Can’t we all just get along?

Thank you, again, for letting us brag a bit. (Mic drop)

Jerry Brodsky