February 7, 200917 yr Probably pretty obscure, but something I was thinking about. Why are so many Jewish people in our government? (FWIW, I have no problem with it, half my family is Jewish). Jews only represent 1.3% of the population, but... 14 of the 50 Senators are Jewish (28%) 43 of the 435 U.S. Representatives are Jewish (~10%) 3 current U.S. Governors are Jewish (and Eliot Spitzer was as well) (6 or 8%) The mayors of Las Vegas, New York, Beverly Hills, and Louisville are all Jewish. Coincidence or what?
February 7, 200917 yr Probably pretty obscure, but something I was thinking about. Why are so many Jewish people in our government? (FWIW, I have no problem with it, half my family is Jewish). Jews only represent 1.3% of the population, but... 14 of the 50 Senators are Jewish (28%) 43 of the 435 U.S. Representatives are Jewish (~10%) 3 current U.S. Governors are Jewish (and Eliot Spitzer was as well) (6 or 8%) The mayors of Las Vegas, New York, Beverly Hills, and Louisville are all Jewish. Coincidence or what? I would ask Cartman.
February 7, 200917 yr Author FWIW, what difference does it make what their religion is? I don't think it does make a difference. Of course it doesn't. Rockmom-you are a perfect example- you are the Catholic but wrong on so much. (just kidding 100%, I promise) I just find it interesting. One would assume that the demographics of our elected representatives would be proportional to the demographics of the population. I read that a Jew is 74 times more likely to be elected to the US Senate than an African-American (based solely on the current numbers). Is there a reason why?
February 7, 200917 yr Of course it doesn't. Rockmom-you are a perfect example- you are the Catholic but wrong on so much. (just kidding 100%, I promise) I just find it interesting. One would assume that the demographics of our elected representatives would be proportional to the demographics of the population. I read that a Jew is 74 times more likely to be elected to the US Senate than an African-American (based solely on the current numbers). Is there a reason why? Our government is the farthest thing from a true representation of its people. I wish I could get my hands on a slide my professor showed me in my poly sci class which showed true populations of many groups of people and their representation in the government. Some are grossly over represented, and some are grossly underrepresented. If you dug deeper you'd find large discrepancies in all kinds of groups, not just the Jewish community. Just so nobody attacks me, I have no problem with a large number of Jewish people being in the government, I was just repeating what I learned in lecture.
February 7, 200917 yr Author Aren't there 100 Senators..... :lol: Yes. What was that excerpt that GT posted about drinking & killing bad brain cells? I need a beer. Could a mod change that so I can avoid the embarassment?
February 7, 200917 yr Author Anyways, on one hand, it would lead me to believe that people don't care about the religion of their elected officials. On the other hand, I remember in this past election about the huge deal with Romney's Mormonism.
February 8, 200917 yr Anyways, on one hand, it would lead me to believe that people don't care about the religion of their elected officials. On the other hand, I remember in this past election about the huge deal with Romney's Mormonism. You may be right, but do all Jews claim Judaism? Choice of religion seems to be linked closer to their race than most, but what about those that run for office? I think it would be interesting to see the numbers.
February 8, 200917 yr Throughout the ages, Jews have often taken on the role of lawyers and bankers. I don't know why this is, but it has been both a boon and a bane to Jews. While these fields are both lucrative and profitable, it also makes targets of all Jews when times are bad. The ease of which the Nazis turned the population against the Jews is a prime example, but its not the only one. Time and again over the centuries, the Jewish people have been the scapegoats of nations.
February 8, 200917 yr I just find it interesting. One would assume that the demographics of our elected representatives would be proportional to the demographics of the population. I read that a Jew is 74 times more likely to be elected to the US Senate than an African-American (based solely on the current numbers). Is there a reason why? Think about how we elect representatives and you'll see why the proportion of a particular race/religion are irrelevant.
February 8, 200917 yr I once had a college professor say that followers of the Jewish faith learned professions that was easy to pick up and take with them. So education would be highly valued, because your profession was in your head. This leads me to believing that is something that has carried over to this day, valuing education.
February 8, 200917 yr That's an interesting question. It seems that Hollywood has a lot of Jewish actors and actresses as well.
February 8, 200917 yr Throughout the ages, Jews have often taken on the role of lawyers and bankers. I don't know why this is, but it has been both a boon and a bane to Jews. While these fields are both lucrative and profitable, it also makes targets of all Jews when times are bad. The ease of which the Nazis turned the population against the Jews is a prime example, but its not the only one. Time and again over the centuries, the Jewish people have been the scapegoats of nations. In addition to that, many Jewish populations never truly assimilated to the culture of whichever country they moved to. As such their little communities with different customs, beliefs and even language made them extremely easy targets for persecution and blame when things went badly for everyone else. Especially when the Jewish communities were turning a profit.
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