I tried to keep it short and I will amend going forward. Please excuse my omissions and errors. I readily admit that I still lack a lot of knowledge about this subject.
By special, I do not mean that other people are not special. Other people are special too.
Education & Knowledge
Not many other peoples have such a strong desire to be well educated and to ensure that their children get a great education.
There is also a long tradition of great Jewish scholars. Thanks to e.g. the diaspora their knowledge was spread and enormously enriched from all corners of the world.
Just the fact how many different languages the Jewish people spoke and how many different cultures they were familiar with. What a living encyclopedia!
Business Savvy & Financial Wizards
Thanks to the diaspora and education, Jews tended to have advanced knowledge of markets, businesses, trade, and finances!
Some Jews became very rich and wealthy through their businesses which attracted enemies! Some of them have financed monarchs and other political leaders!
Centuries of Diaspora & Being Mostly A Minority
Most of the dispersed living Jews have a rich, fascinating, unique, and remarkable history of their own wherever they lived around the world.
Despite being a minority in many geographic places, Jews tend not assimilate as well as many other minorities. Jews tend not to adhere to when in Rome do as the Romans do! And they preferred to live together as a community.
However, the Jews where ever they lived, have learnt to live in and with the society around them. They were remarkably flexible and adaptable to their environment. Where ever they lived around the world, they were generally not perceived as threat by their neighbors. They were generally tolerated. Jews have tended to provide valuable services to the societies they lived in throughout history.
Centuries of Persecution & Antisemitism
How to survive in a sometimes hostile environment for centuries? You got to learn very fast and remain very smart! Jews tended to and they did not mind to move away when persecution became too intense to bear.
Being rather smart and having a strong religious faith attracts many enemies!
Moreover, minorities have been frequently targeted as ideal scapegoats (no pun intended, no disrespect for Leviticus) throughout history!
How minorities are treated in a society usually has been a great indicator for tolerance and liberalism over history!
Strong Religious Faith For Over 4,000 Years
Judaism: A religious faith based on firm, universal principles like the Golden Rule and God e.g. can not be a human being. For those humans who feel they are like a god and for those who believe a human was born as a god, this sure must be offensive or a sacrilege.
Then there is a strong humanism deeply embodied in this faith. This is probably best expressed by the Yiddish Mensch.
I also suspect that the Jewish people are significantly less prone to superstition and fads like other people thanks to their faith and education.
King David
Probably, the most famous king of the Jews (lived around 1000-900 BCE) known all over the world. The Star (Shield) of David is the symbol.
The story of David contains a lot of universal, everlasting lessons for all humans. E.g. a determined sheep herding teenager only armed with a slingshot can kill the best and giant soldier of the enemy.
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