1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
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It is well-known that Israel faces hostility and pressure from religious enemies on its borders. But in a new book, author George Gilder reveals that Israel has also become "the crucial battlefield for capitalism and freedom in our time." In Gilder's telling, Israel has emerged in the early twenty-first century
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as a bastion of technological progress and commercial and scientific advance. Israeli Jews have achieved enormous success in areas ranging from business to the arts. Gilder argues that "if we allow Israel to be quelled or destroyed, we will be succumbing to forces targeting capitalism and freedom everywhere."
Gilder will present arguments from his new book, The Israel Test, at a forum sponsored by American.com, AEI's online magazine of ideas. Joining Gilder will be AEI visiting fellow Jon Entine and W. H. Brady Scholar Charles Murray. Entine is the author of Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People. In April 2007, Murray published a much-discussed essay in Commentary magazine called "Jewish Genius," in which he documented "the extravagant overrepresentation of Jews, relative to their numbers, in the top ranks of the arts, sciences, law, medicine, finance, entrepreneurship, and the media." American.com editor Nick Schulz will moderate.
| 9:45 a.m. | Registration | |
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| 10:00 | Presenter: | George Gilder, Gilder Technology Associates |
| Discussants: | Jon Entine, AEI | |
| Charles Murray, AEI | ||
| Moderator: | Nick Schulz, AEI | |
| 11:15 | Adjournment |
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-862-5887
E-mail: eleanor.stables@aei.org
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-862-4870
E-mail: VRodman@aei.org
WASHINGTON, JULY 28, 2009--After reading Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein's book The Bell Curve, author George Gilder became intrigued by what he termed "the extraordinary, amazing, off-the-charts performance of Ashkenazi Jews." This curiosity led to his latest book, The Israel Test. At an event hosted by AEI and The American, AEI's online magazine of ideas, Gilder discussed The Israel Test with AEI scholars Murray and Jon Entine. Nick Schulz, American.com editor-in-chief, moderated the discussion.
In his book, Gilder seeks to understand the importance of Jewish exceptionalism. "Superior IQs of Jews and their performance in this world is clearly a fact," he said. Instead of focusing on why the Jewish people have made contributions to society disproportionate to their population, he examined the consequences of Jewish exceptionalism. Where society is organized to allow individuals to flourish, levels of prosperity will rise for all people because of the accomplishments of a few. This has been seen in the United States and in Israel, which have economic systems that enable Jewish exceptionalism to lead to greater prosperity. Gilder focused on the value of fostering exceptionalism, and argued that "if we allow Israel to be quelled or destroyed, we will be succumbing to forces targeting capitalism and freedom everywhere."
Entine agrees, saying the book deals not only with the "survival of Israel, but, even more important, the parallel issue of the survival of democratic capitalism." Murray, who praised Gilder's ability to make "large, sweeping, ambitious statements about the world," echoed this sentiment. He commented that Israel and the United States are among the few who still actively foster exceptionalism. "If Israel fails, that will not just be a defeat second hand of the United States, it is a defeat of everything we stand for. America ceases to be American in some important sense," he said.
Many have been drawn to the economic benefits of Jewish achievement, however, many have responded to it with envy and hatred. Gilder traces the roots of anti-Semitism in history and today back to jealousy of Jewish exceptionalism.
"This Israel test is how you respond to excellence and achievement," he said. To pass the test, one must "avoid envy and give way to admiration and emulation of what the Israelis are accomplishing in the world today." According to Gilder, the emergence of Jewish excellence "frightens people and results in ghastly reactions," which we all have seen "again and again through history." This test has become increasingly important since the creation of a Jewish state, Gilder said. "Now the Israel test is moving from Jews in the neighborhood to the Jewish nation of Israel, which I believe distills and concentrates the Jewish genius in the world today," making Jewish exceptionalism more visible, he said.
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Speaker biographies
George Gilder’s latest book is The Israel Test (Richard Vigilante Books, 2009), in which he argues that Israel is the crucial battlefield for capitalism and freedom in our time. Mr. Gilder is the head of Gilder Technology Associates. His best-seller, Wealth and Poverty (ICS Press, 1993), made the moral case for capitalism, and his other books include Men and Marriage (Pelican Publishing Company, 1992), Recapturing the Spirit of Enterprise (ICS Press, 1992), and Microcosm (Free Press, 1990), which explored the quantum roots of new electronic technologies. Mr. Gilder is a contributing editor of Forbes magazine and a frequent writer for The Economist, the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He is the former editor-in-chief of the Gilder Technology Report (published by Forbes Inc., 1996–2007), chairman of George Gilder Fund Management, LLC, and host of the online technology investment discussion Gilder Telecosm Forum.
Charles Murray is AEI’s W. H. Brady Scholar. He first came to national attention in 1984 with the publication of Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950–1980 (Basic Books, 1984), which has been credited as the intellectual foundation for the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. His 1994 New York Times best seller, The Bell Curve (Free Press, 1994), coauthored with the late Richard J. Herrnstein, sparked heated controversy for its analysis of the role of IQ in shaping America’s class structure. His latest book, Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality (Crown Forum, 2008), provides a framework for rethinking what parents should demand from an educational system.
Jon Entine is a visiting fellow at AEI. A former Emmy-winning producer for NBC News and ABC News, he researches and writes about corporate responsibility, science, and society. His books include Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People (Grand Central Publishing, 2007), which focuses on the genetics of race; the best-selling Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk about It (Public Affairs, 2000), based on an award-winning NBC News documentary; and No Crime but Prejudice: Fischer Homes, the Immigration Fiasco, and Extra-Judicial Prosecution (TFG Books, 2009), about prosecutorial excesses. Entine is an adviser to Global Governance Watch, a project that examines transparency and accountability issues at the United Nations, in nongovernmental organizations, and in related international organizations.
Nick Schulz is the editor-in-chief of American.com, AEI’s online journal of ideas focusing on business, economics, and public affairs. He is also AEI’s DeWitt Wallace Fellow. In 2006, he helped launch American.com and has written its “Techno-Ideas” column. Prior to joining American.com, he was the editor-in-chief of the web-based TCS Daily and the politics editor of FoxNews.com. He was an award-winning television producer with the PBS series Think Tank. He has also been published widely in newspapers and magazines around the country, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Slate.
