# Arab Boycott **URL:** \ **Category:** Religion and Secularism\ **Created:** [September 8, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797 "2014-09-08T18:25:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/1 "2014-09-08T18:25:11Z")
They are welcome to their boycott. It would be a great advantage to the civilized world. A Jewish Boycott Some time ago, Iran 's Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Muslim World to boycott anything and everything that originates with the Jewish people. In response, Meyer M. Treinkman, a pharmacist, out of the kindness of his heart, offered to assist them in their boycott as follows: "Any Muslim who has Syphilis must not be cured by Salvarsan discovered by a Jew, Dr. Ehrlich. He should not even try to find out whether he has Syphilis, because the Wasserman Test is the discovery of a Jew. If a Muslim suspects that he has Gonorrhea, he must not seek diagnosis, because he will be using the method of a Jew named Neissner. “A Muslim who has heart disease must not use Digitalis, a discovery by a Jew, Ludwig Traube. Should he suffer with a toothache, he must not use Novocaine, a discovery of the Jews, Widal and Weil. If a Muslim has Diabetes, he must not use Insulin, the result of research by Minkowsky, a Jew. If one has a headache, he must shun Pyramidon and Antypyrin, due to the Jews, Spiro and Ellege. Muslims with convulsions must put up with them because it was a Jew, Oscar Leibreich, who proposed the use of Chloral Hydrate. Arabs must do likewise with their psychic ailments because Freud, father of psychoanalysis, was a Jew. Should a Muslim child get Diphtheria, he must refrain from the “Schick” reaction which was invented by the Jew, Bella Schick. “Muslims should be ready to die in great numbers and must not permit treatment of ear and brain damage, work of Jewish Nobel Prize winner, Robert Baram. They should continue to die or remain crippled by Infantile Paralysis because the discoverer of the anti-polio vaccine is a Jew, Jonas Salk. “Muslims must refuse to use Streptomycin and continue to die of Tuberculosis because a Jew, Zalman Waxman, invented the wonder drug against this killing disease. Muslim doctors must discard all discoveries and improvements by dermatologist Judas Sehn Benedict, or the lung specialist, Frawnkel, and of many other world renowned Jewish scientists and medical experts. “In short, good and loyal Muslims properly and fittingly should remain afflicted with Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Heart Disease, Headaches, Typhus, Diabetes, Mental Disorders, Polio Convulsions and Tuberculosis and be proud to obey the Islamic boycott.” Oh, and by the way, don’t call for a doctor on your cell phone because the cell phone was invented in Israel by a Jewish engineer. Meanwhile I ask, what medical contributions to the world have the Muslims made?” The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000; that is ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION or 20% of the world’s population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature: 1988 - Najib Mahfooz Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat 1990 - Elias James Corey 1994 - Yaser Arafat: 1999 - Ahmed Zewai Economics: (zero) Physics: (zero) Medicine: 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar 1998 - Ferid Mourad TOTAL: 7 SEVEN The Global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000; that is FOURTEEN MILLION or about 0.02% of the world’s population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature: 1910 - Paul Heyse 1927 - Henri Bergson 1958 - Boris Pasternak 1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon 1966 - Nelly Sachs 1976 - Saul Bellow 1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer 1981 - Elias Canetti 1987 - Joseph Brodsky 1991 - Nadine Gordimer World Peace: 1911 - Alfred Fried 1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser 1968 - Rene Cassin 1973 - Henry Kissinger 1978 - Menachem Begin 1986 - Elie Wiesel 1994 - Shimon Peres 1994 - Yitzhak Rabin Physics: 1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer 1906 - Henri Moissan 1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson 1908 - Gabriel Lippmann 1910 - Otto Wallach 1915 - Richard Willstaetter 1918 - Fritz Haber 1921 - Albert Einstein 1922 - Niels Bohr 1925 - James Franck 1925 - Gustav Hertz 1943 - Gustav Stern 1943 - George Charles de Hevesy 1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi 1952 - Felix Bloch 1954 - Max Born 1958 - Igor Tamm 1959 - Emilio Segre 1960 - Donald A. Glaser 1961 - Robert Hofstadter 1961 - Melvin Calvin 1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau 1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz 1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman 1965 - Julian Schwinger 1969 - Murray Gell-Mann 1971 - Dennis Gabor 1972 - William Howard Stein 1973 - Brian David Josephson 1975 - Benjamin Mottleson 1976 - Burton Richter 1977 - Ilya Prigogine 1978 - Arno Allan Penzias 1978 - Peter L Kapitza 1979 - Stephen Weinberg 1979 - Sheldon Glashow 1979 - Herbert Charles Brown 1980 - Paul Berg 1980 - Walter Gilbert 1981 - Roald Hoffmann 1982 - Aaron Klug 1985 - Albert A. Hauptman 1985 - Jerome Karle 1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach 1988 - Robert Huber 1988 - Leon Lederman 1988 - Melvin Schwartz 1988 - Jack Steinberger 1989 - Sidney Altman 1990 - Jerome Friedman 1992 - Rudolph Marcus 1995 - Martin Perl 2000 - Alan J. Heeger Economics: 1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson 1971 - Simon Kuznets 1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow 1975 - Leonid Kantorovich 1976 - Milton Friedman 1978 - Herbert A. Simon 1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein 1985 - Franco Modigliani 1987 - Robert M. Solow 1990 - Harry Markowitz 1990 - Merton Miller 1992 - Gary Becker 1993 - Robert Fogel Medicine: 1908 - Elie Metchnikoff 1908 - Paul Erlich 1914 - Robert Barany 1922 - Otto Meyerhof 1930 - Karl Landsteiner 1931 - Otto Warburg 1936 - Otto Loewi 1944 - Joseph Erlanger 1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser 1945 - Ernst Boris Chain 1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller 1950 - Tadeus Reichstein 1952 - Selman Abraham Waksman 1953 - Hans Krebs 1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann 1958 - Joshua Lederberg 1959 - Arthur Kornberg 1964 - Konrad Bloch 1965 - Francois Jacob 1965 - Andre Lwoff 1967 - George Wald 1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg 1969 - Salvador Luria 1970 - Julius Axelrod 1970 - Sir Bernard Katz 1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman 1975 - Howard Martin Temin 1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg 1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow 1978 - Daniel Nathans 1980 - Baruj Benacerraf 1984 - Cesar Milstein 1985 - Michael Stuart Brown 1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein 1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini] 1988 - Gertrude Elion 1989 - Harold Varmus 1991 - Erwin Neher 1991 - Bert Sakmann 1993 - Richard J. Roberts 1993 - Phillip Sharp 1994 - Alfred Gilman 1995 - Edward B. Lewis 1996- Lu RoseIacovino I wonder what happened to the boycott. It was Steven Weinberg who said, “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” LL ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/2 "2014-09-08T20:08:35Z")
Science gives us things that can be discovered or created using observation and experimentation. The only thing that is required is an atmosphere of curiosity and open sharing of knowledge. It makes no difference what-so-ever the religion of the person or the region. Any number of factors affect the climate of knowledge, and all religions have been known to sometimes have positive affects and sometimes negative. The scientists and doctors listed here have very little affect on the politics of the region. They neither cause nor prevent the oppression of Muslims through their work. What they do in their free time may be a different story and varies with individual. ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/3 "2014-09-08T22:48:58Z")
> Science gives us things that can be discovered or created using observation and experimentation. The only thing that is required is an atmosphere of curiosity and open sharing of knowledge. It makes no difference what-so-ever the religion of the person or the region. Any number of factors affect the climate of knowledge, and all religions have been known to sometimes have positive affects and sometimes negative. The scientists and doctors listed here have very little affect on the politics of the region. They neither cause nor prevent the oppression of Muslims through their work. What they do in their free time may be a different story and varies with individual. That is true in the abstract, but how do you account for the high percentage of Jews who have won Nobel prizes? And these Jews were not from one country or even one part of the world. What's the answer? I'm not Jewish, by the way, so I have no skin in this game. LL ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/4 "2014-09-08T22:54:48Z")
> Science gives us things that can be discovered or created using observation and experimentation. The only thing that is required is an atmosphere of curiosity and open sharing of knowledge. It makes no difference what-so-ever the religion of the person or the region. Any number of factors affect the climate of knowledge, and all religions have been known to sometimes have positive affects and sometimes negative. The scientists and doctors listed here have very little affect on the politics of the region. They neither cause nor prevent the oppression of Muslims through their work. What they do in their free time may be a different story and varies with individual. That is true in the abstract, but how do you account for the high percentage of Jews who have won Nobel prizes? And these Jews were not from one country or even one part of the world. What's the answer? I'm not Jewish, by the way, so I have no skin in this game. LLVery briefly, and risking sounding a little bit prejudiced, history. Whatever you think of the Bible, it is a story of a people that revolted against a repressive government and had some ideas about social justice, primitive yes, but it was a long time ago. They are also one of the rare instances of a culture that survived losing their homeland. After that, look at what they were allowed to do. In both the Christian and Muslim worlds, they couldn't be Kings or Caliphates but they could be business owners, bankers and doctors. It's the basic success story of any culture, value learning, nurture your children, fight for your rights, but be prudent about it. ---
**Author:** ![yosemitesam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7feea3/32.png) [@yosemitesam](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/yosemitesam)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/5 "2014-09-09T05:19:51Z")
> It was Steven Weinberg who said, “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." LL BINGO ---
**Author:** ![gertdeboer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/gertdeboer/32/1377_2.png) [@gertdeboer](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/gertdeboer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/6 "2014-09-09T06:13:25Z")
Well, the OP is very rough: while it may show facts, it is the interpretation that matters. Jews were scattered all over the world, but mostly in the western world. So they could profit from all the social and technical progress going on there. I agree with two of the factors that Lausten mentions: that Jews were not allowed to work in many professions, so if they had the intellectual and emotional capabilities they had to work in certain areas like banking, medicine, and who knows, as a scientist. Their cultural and religious background might have helped there too: a certain positive stance to work and knowledge (Spinoza was grinding lenses…). And of course George would add that the Ashkenazi Jews had some strong genes in favour of intelligence (no idea if this is true but it could be a factor). Contrast this with the Arabs: living in their own countries with a traditional religion which ‘enlightened period’ was already a while ago, and that were conquered and oppressed by the west. They were catapulted in the modern age, did not naturally grow with and into it. The new social ideas and technologies did not arise from their own culture, they were confronted with them in a very short time. This caused them, for fear of loss of power and identity, to cling to one of the only factors they all shared that did not come from the west, and could unite them: Islam. So they kept their cultural and intellectual life more or less separated from the west. So is there a joke in Khamenei’s call not to use anything that originates from the Jews? Yes, of course. Is the comparison between the lists of Nobel price winners fair? No, of course not. Even if the lists are facts, joyful presenting them in this way has a racist odour. Handling the problem with the Moslem world needs to be based on _knowledge_: of their history, how they think and feel, and how and why we differ from them. Just basing our actions on emotions of fear and anger, be it actions against radical Islam, Islam in general, or religion in general, will not bring us closer to any kind of peaceful solution. PS Lois’ OP is obviously a combination of two text pieces that went viral on the internet. The second one, about the Nobel prices, can be found on many fundamentalist christian web sites. For me it is a clear case of a hate campaign. ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/7 "2014-09-09T11:43:30Z")
Excellent post Gdb. Not only were Muslims conquered by Europe via Spain, they were earlier overrun by Mongols in Baghdad. At the same time, they were experiencing some crazy Caliphates and fundamentalist movement was putting pressure on their intelligentsia. (see Al-Gahzali). ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/8 "2014-09-09T16:52:10Z")
> Well, the OP is very rough: while it may show facts, it is the interpretation that matters. Jews were scattered all over the world, but mostly in the western world. So they could profit from all the social and technical progress going on there. I agree with two of the factors that Lausten mentions: that Jews were not allowed to work in many professions, so if they had the intellectual and emotional capabilities they had to work in certain areas like banking, medicine, and who knows, as a scientist. Their cultural and religious background might have helped there too: a certain positive stance to work and knowledge (Spinoza was grinding lenses...). And of course George would add that the Ashkenazi Jews had some strong genes in favour of intelligence (no idea if this is true but it could be a factor). Contrast this with the Arabs: living in their own countries with a traditional religion which 'enlightened period' was already a while ago, and that were conquered and oppressed by the west. They were catapulted in the modern age, did not naturally grow with and into it. The new social ideas and technologies did not arise from their own culture, they were confronted with them in a very short time. This caused them, for fear of loss of power and identity, to cling to one of the only factors they all shared that did not come from the west, and could unite them: Islam. So they kept their cultural and intellectual life more or less separated from the west. So is there a joke in Khamenei's call not to use anything that originates from the Jews? Yes, of course. Is the comparison between the lists of Nobel price winners fair? No, of course not. Even if the lists are facts, joyful presenting them in this way has a racist odour. Handling the problem with the Moslem world needs to be based on _knowledge_: of their history, how they think and feel, and how and why we differ from them. Just basing our actions on emotions of fear and anger, be it actions against radical Islam, Islam in general, or religion in general, will not bring us closer to any kind of peaceful solution. PS Lois' OP is obviously a combination of two text pieces that went viral on the internet. The second one, about the Nobel prices, can be found on many fundamentalist christian web sites. For me it is a clear case of a hate campaign. It's a hate campaign to note that a certain group made more scientific advances than any other? I am disturbed at your definition of a hate campaign. So people should refrain from discovering and inventing things necessary to human life, lest they be accused of executing a hate campaign? Now there's an intelligent analysis. It's people like you who are engaging in a hate campaign. You can't even bring yourself to give credit where credit is due if it means giving credit to a group you hate. You are the worst kind of misanthrope. What advances in science, peace, literature, physics or ecnomics have you been responsible for, pray tell? Lois ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/9 "2014-09-09T17:34:44Z")
> It's a hate campaign to note that a certain group made more scientific advances than any other? I am disturbed at your definition of a hate campaign. So people should refrain from discovering and inventing things necessary to human life, lest they be accused of executing a hate campaign? Now there's an intelligent analysis. It's people like you who are engaging in a hate campaign. You can't even bring yourself to give credit where credit is due if it means giving credit to a group you hate. You are the worst kind of misanthrope. What advances in science, peace, literature, physics or ecnomics have you been responsible for, pray tell? Lois So many levels of wrongness. I'm giving a talk on Oct 5 in Duluth, MN that will cover this very topic. I'll link you to the audio when it's up. The differences are not just "noted", they used in a specific way to make a specific point. Khamenei was wrong to make his statement in the first place, no argument. However, responding to arrogance and isolationism with equal measure is equally wrong and adds to the wrong, making it more wrong. If Jews are in fact better, then show it by being understanding and helping the person who is wrong see their wrong-ness. The Jews are also in the more powerful position, making it doubly their responsibility to act accordingly. Lois, you send this into the stratosphere of logical fallacies when you suggest that Gdb is suggesting Jews stop being so smart because that somehow harms others. It's a just a rant after that, which I will ignore. During the Abassid Dynasty of the early Islam Empire, many contributions to science were made. On wikipedia, and other sources, an Islamic scientist is credited with the first modern implementation of the scientific method with his study of optics. There is no actual "first" in this case, but still, it is the earliest case of a book that has survived in totality, showing the use of first principles, natural cause premises, and peer review. Unfortunately, around the 13th century, just when Europe was getting out of its fundamentalist dark ages, some Islamic theologians decided to start theirs, plus they were being hit from two sides militarily and from bad leadership within. It's my belief that the understanding of how all cultures of the world have contributed to modernization will help to heal the divides that were created in the late Middle Ages. Claims about Jews being better scientists, BECAUSE THEY ARE JEWS, is a step in the wrong direction. And, they shoulda cleaned up the list a little too. Henry Kissinger gets a prize for peace, gimmee a break. ---
**Author:** ![gertdeboer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/gertdeboer/32/1377_2.png) [@gertdeboer](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/gertdeboer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/10 "2014-09-09T17:48:53Z")
Well Lois, Lausten said the most already. Maybe you can read my posting once again, and see if you really react on what I meant. Just to be sure: I do not accuse you of racism or doing a hate campaign. Read carefully again if you think that. I know you a little from your rather intense activities here, and I am pretty sure you are not really racist. To see the list of Nobel price winners is somehow funny on the surface, especially if you contrast them with Khamenei’s appeal to the Muslim world. But if you understand the background then it is already less funny. And if you find these lists so often on Christian fundamentalist websites, then it should be clear that the lists are meant to offend. ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/11 "2014-09-09T20:00:19Z")
[Interesting timing for this study to come out](http://billmoyers.com/2014/09/09/study-science-and-religion-really-are-enemies-after-all/)] They are counting patents, so this is a modern analysis of the current climate. If you were going to try to do this with the last 500 years of history, you would have to spend a lot of time determining who really invented things then count that. If you could, I believe the relationship would hold. So when there was a lower degree of “religiosity” we would see Arabian countries producing more and the opposite affect when religion became more central. For Christians it would show less innovation during the dark ages of religious rule and more after the enlightenment. In both cases, the genetic stock would be the same, but the culture would change. Proving this is a matter of culture. ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/12 "2014-09-10T07:22:18Z")
> It's a hate campaign to note that a certain group made more scientific advances than any other? I am disturbed at your definition of a hate campaign. So people should refrain from discovering and inventing things necessary to human life, lest they be accused of executing a hate campaign? Now there's an intelligent analysis. It's people like you who are engaging in a hate campaign. You can't even bring yourself to give credit where credit is due if it means giving credit to a group you hate. You are the worst kind of misanthrope. What advances in science, peace, literature, physics or ecnomics have you been responsible for, pray tell? Lois So many levels of wrongness. I'm giving a talk on Oct 5 in Duluth, MN that will cover this very topic. I'll link you to the audio when it's up. The differences are not just "noted", they used in a specific way to make a specific point. Khamenei was wrong to make his statement in the first place, no argument. However, responding to arrogance and isolationism with equal measure is equally wrong and adds to the wrong, making it more wrong. If Jews are in fact better, then show it by being understanding and helping the person who is wrong see their wrong-ness. The Jews are also in the more powerful position, making it doubly their responsibility to act accordingly. Lois, you send this into the stratosphere of logical fallacies when you suggest that Gdb is suggesting Jews stop being so smart because that somehow harms others. It's a just a rant after that, which I will ignore. During the Abassid Dynasty of the early Islam Empire, many contributions to science were made. On wikipedia, and other sources, an Islamic scientist is credited with the first modern implementation of the scientific method with his study of optics. There is no actual "first" in this case, but still, it is the earliest case of a book that has survived in totality, showing the use of first principles, natural cause premises, and peer review. Unfortunately, around the 13th century, just when Europe was getting out of its fundamentalist dark ages, some Islamic theologians decided to start theirs, plus they were being hit from two sides militarily and from bad leadership within. It's my belief that the understanding of how all cultures of the world have contributed to modernization will help to heal the divides that were created in the late Middle Ages. Claims about Jews being better scientists, BECAUSE THEY ARE JEWS, is a step in the wrong direction. And, they shoulda cleaned up the list a little too. Henry Kissinger gets a prize for peace, gimmee a break. Nobody said they received Nobel Prizes because they are Jews (except maybe you). I see no reason not to point out such an anomaly. If you have an argument against it, please present it. Why do you suppose Jews have been so successful in winning Nobel Prizes? I see that when you don't like a simple statistics you criticize the statistics instead of making a reasoned argument. If you have a quibble with the Nobel committee's selection of Kissinger for the Peace Prize, take it up with the committee. Don't blame Kissinger--or anyone else. Lois Lois ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/13 "2014-09-10T11:51:50Z")
> Nobody said they received Nobel Prizes because they are Jews (except maybe you). I see no reason not to point out such an anomaly. If you have an argument against it, please present it. Why do you suppose Jews have been so successful in winning Nobel Prizes? I see that when you don't like a simple statistics you criticize the statistics instead of making a reasoned argument. If you have a quibble with the Nobel committee's selection of Kissinger for the Peace Prize, take it up with the committee. Don't blame Kissinger--or anyone else. Lois Lois Then please explain what the hell you meant. I already answered your question about why I think Jews have been successful. Why do you think so? And lots of people quibble over Kissinger, I just happen to agree with them. ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/14 "2014-09-10T18:40:43Z")
> Nobody said they received Nobel Prizes because they are Jews (except maybe you). I see no reason not to point out such an anomaly. If you have an argument against it, please present it. Why do you suppose Jews have been so successful in winning Nobel Prizes? I see that when you don't like a simple statistics you criticize the statistics instead of making a reasoned argument. If you have a quibble with the Nobel committee's selection of Kissinger for the Peace Prize, take it up with the committee. Don't blame Kissinger--or anyone else. Lois Lois Then please explain what the hell you meant. I already answered your question about why I think Jews have been successful. Why do you think so? And lots of people quibble over Kissinger, I just happen to agree with them. So do I. But the Peace Prize is different than all the other prizes. It's political, for one thing, and the choice has always been controversial. It's more in line with Time Magazine's Man of the Year than with other Nobel Prizes. IMO, here should be no Nobel Peace Prize, but, as usual, they don't ask me. Lois ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/15 "2014-09-11T00:38:34Z")
> Nobody said they received Nobel Prizes because they are Jews (except maybe you). I see no reason not to point out such an anomaly. If you have an argument against it, please present it. Why do you suppose Jews have been so successful in winning Nobel Prizes? I see that when you don't like a simple statistics you criticize the statistics instead of making a reasoned argument. If you have a quibble with the Nobel committee's selection of Kissinger for the Peace Prize, take it up with the committee. Don't blame Kissinger--or anyone else. Lois Lois Then please explain what the hell you meant. I already answered your question about why I think Jews have been successful. Why do you think so? And lots of people quibble over Kissinger, I just happen to agree with them. So do I. But the Peace Prize is different than all the other prizes. It's political, for one thing, and the choice has always been controversial. It's more in line with Time Magazine's Man of the Year than with other Nobel Prizes. IMO, here should be no Nobel Peace Prize, but, as usual, they don't ask me. Lois So are you going to explain why you are accusing me of criticizing this post without good reason? I already gave you an explanation, a reasoned one, and you come back with some weird thing about me not liking statistics and a repeat of an earlier question. ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/16 "2014-09-11T15:55:36Z")
> Nobody said they received Nobel Prizes because they are Jews (except maybe you). I see no reason not to point out such an anomaly. If you have an argument against it, please present it. Why do you suppose Jews have been so successful in winning Nobel Prizes? I see that when you don't like a simple statistics you criticize the statistics instead of making a reasoned argument. If you have a quibble with the Nobel committee's selection of Kissinger for the Peace Prize, take it up with the committee. Don't blame Kissinger--or anyone else. Lois Lois Then please explain what the hell you meant. I already answered your question about why I think Jews have been successful. Why do you think so? And lots of people quibble over Kissinger, I just happen to agree with them. So do I. But the Peace Prize is different than all the other prizes. It's political, for one thing, and the choice has always been controversial. It's more in line with Time Magazine's Man of the Year than with other Nobel Prizes. IMO, here should be no Nobel Peace Prize, but, as usual, they don't ask me. Lois So are you going to explain why you are accusing me of criticizing this post without good reason? I already gave you an explanation, a reasoned one, and you come back with some weird thing about me not liking statistics and a repeat of an earlier question. You didn't explain anything beyond stating your own prejudice. Lois ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/17 "2014-09-11T17:13:02Z")
> You didn't explain anything beyond stating your own prejudice. Lois That must be some new definition of prejudice that I don't know about. What I talked about are the factors that lead to scientific discovery, innovation and increased knowledge. As an aside, I alluded to how cultures tend to acknowledge their own accomplishments sometimes missing how they affect others. I think many Palestinians don't see any of this "peace" that Kissinger supposedly created. The only thing I can figure you are doing is some sort of reverse-racism claim. Wherein, if I say anything about the historical factors that led to a group of people acting in similar ways, that's racism. I'll wait for your response before I attempt to undo that any further. For now, I made a clear statement about how intelligence is not related to genetics, at least not at the level of country of origin or the religion of your ancestors. That is the opposite of prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![loisl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/loisl/32/18_2.png) [@loisl](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/loisl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/18 "2014-09-12T00:11:45Z")
> You didn't explain anything beyond stating your own prejudice. Lois That must be some new definition of prejudice that I don't know about. What I talked about are the factors that lead to scientific discovery, innovation and increased knowledge. As an aside, I alluded to how cultures tend to acknowledge their own accomplishments sometimes missing how they affect others. I think many Palestinians don't see any of this "peace" that Kissinger supposedly created. The only thing I can figure you are doing is some sort of reverse-racism claim. Wherein, if I say anything about the historical factors that led to a group of people acting in similar ways, that's racism. I'll wait for your response before I attempt to undo that any further. For now, I made a clear statement about how intelligence is not related to genetics, at least not at the level of country of origin or the religion of your ancestors. That is the opposite of prejudice. I never claimed that intelligence is related to genetics, nor did the piece I sent in, it simply noted an interestimg phenomenon--one which no one has refuted. Least of all, you. You are protesting too much. Lois ---
**Author:** ![lausten](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/lausten/32/23705_2.png) [@lausten](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lausten)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/19 "2014-09-12T01:19:04Z")
> You didn't explain anything beyond stating your own prejudice. Lois That must be some new definition of prejudice that I don't know about. What I talked about are the factors that lead to scientific discovery, innovation and increased knowledge. As an aside, I alluded to how cultures tend to acknowledge their own accomplishments sometimes missing how they affect others. I think many Palestinians don't see any of this "peace" that Kissinger supposedly created. The only thing I can figure you are doing is some sort of reverse-racism claim. Wherein, if I say anything about the historical factors that led to a group of people acting in similar ways, that's racism. I'll wait for your response before I attempt to undo that any further. For now, I made a clear statement about how intelligence is not related to genetics, at least not at the level of country of origin or the religion of your ancestors. That is the opposite of prejudice. I never claimed that intelligence is related to genetics, nor did the piece I sent in, it simply noted an interestimg phenomenon--one which no one has refuted. Least of all, you. You are protesting too much. Lois Okie Dokie. Either you don't understand what you did, or you do understand and you're trying to exit gracefully. Exiting gracefully is hard to do on a discussion forum. You made a comparison. Call it an "interesting phenomenon" if you want, it was a comparison and there was a reason for doing it. It was a response to something someone else said and it had a conclusion, that original someone appeared to be stifled by the response. How could you explain all of this if not that the intention was to point out that Jews are better than Muslims? If there is some other intention, you should explain that, because that's how most people would take it. ---
**Author:** ![gertdeboer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/gertdeboer/32/1377_2.png) [@gertdeboer](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/gertdeboer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797/20 "2014-09-12T10:08:25Z")
> I never claimed that intelligence is related to genetics, nor did the piece I sent in, it simply noted an interestimg phenomenon--one which no one has refuted. Least of all, you. You are protesting too much. You _noted_ an interesting phenomenon? No, no, you just got a funny email or found a funny website, and copied it for us, because you wanted to share your schadenfreude. There are no facts to refute, of course not, Lausten and I did not deny the facts. But we are looking for the motive behind such texts. For you it might be schadenfreude (which is not such a terrible offense. I know this feeling also too well, just at other facts.), but for others the motive might be clearly racist, or if you want, discriminative. If you read my first posting again, you will see I did not accuse _you_ of racism or of being on a hate campaign. By copying texts which were published with a racist intention, even if they only contain facts, you just take a little part in helping to distribute this meme. A fact can be very insulting depending in the context in which it is said. 1. The doctor, reading the dossier of her patient, said with a lot of empathy in her voice: "So your mother died in a psychiatric clinique?" 2. The girls of her class were always teasing her. But it became to much for her, when one of the girls said: "So your mother died in a psychiatric clinique?" Same sentence, same fact. Context and interpretation matter. It is deadly when somebody hides behind "Well, it is true, isn't it? Am I not allowed to say truths?" [Next page](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/arab-boycott/3797.md?page=2)