Esteemed and honored professor: Half of Israel is proud of you, but the other half... is embarrassed by you

What a great source of national joy it is — in the midst of Israel’s national travail — that yet another Jew has won a Nobel Prize.

This time it is Professor Joel Mokyr, raised in Haifa and presently a professor at Chicago’s Northwestern University and visiting professor at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, who shares the Nobel in Economic History with two other laureates. Israelis and Jews everywhere point with pride at yet another indication of Jewish brainpower.

But what a great source of shame it is that a famous Jew finds it necessary, in a comment heard round the world, to descend to unfortunate bromides and to denigrate millions of Israel’s chareidi citizens — and by so doing to be guilty of purveying shop-worn clichés, not to mention that he adds fuel to the fires of anti-Semitism.

In an October 23 interview in the Times of Israel, the new laureate, basking in the admiration of the world, reminisced fondly about his Israeli origins. He noted that “Israelis are exceptionally creative across the board, not just in digital technology… but in many other fields, including literature and music.”

And then, without any prodding and without being asked, he added: “All of this creativity is produced by about half the population, because the other half, particularly the ultra-Orthodox groups, contribute practically nothing to this.” (Italics added.)

I am not a chareidi apologist, but I caught my breath when reading this. Here was a completely gratuitous slap in the face to millions of Israeli citizens. Judaism, or chareidim, or Orthodox Jews, were not part of the conversation, but out of nowhere and without being prompted, Professor Mokyr took the opportunity to besmirch Orthodox Jews.

In so doing, the professor ends up embarrassing himself. As for “creativity,” he obviously knows nothing about the awesome creativity currently taking place in chareidi circles, with dozens of books and commentaries on classic Jewish texts appearing steadily every month. Could it be that this renowned Jewish historian has never heard of the foundations of his own Jewish heritage, or ever studied in depth a page or two of these basic texts? Has he ever pored over Rambam, whose work is the subject of almost 1,000 creative books and commentaries? One wonders if his superb mind ever encountered the brilliant insights of the Gaon of Vilna, or the revolutionary schema of Rav Chaim HaLevi Soloveitcik, or the mind-shattering analyses of the 20th century sage, the Chazon Ish? With all of his history knowledge, has he even heard of them? And as an economist, might it not be fascinating to ponder over the economic sacrifices endured by these “nonproductive, noncreative” chareidim in order to be faithful to their heritage? It might also be of interest that despite living near the poverty line, they nevertheless give the Israeli authorities millions of shekalim every year through taxes and fees. Just a cursory glance at the multitude of advertisements in Orthodox journals such as this one might offer him fresh insights into this community.

And incidentally, has the good professor ever considered why Israelis are so creative, or why it is that so many Jews in general have won the Nobel? Could it be that millennia of sacred study have sharpened the Jewish mind? This in itself might be worthy of an in-depth scholarly analysis.

It is not my place to lecture a Nobel laureate, but do not genuine scholars think out of the box, and eschew bromides and clichés? In thoughtlessly parroting anti- chareidi prejudices, the professor who is known for his original ideas suddenly finds himself repeating the Pavlovian banalities of the street.

Esteemed and honored professor: Half of Israel is proud of you, but the other half — the half whose rate of abandoning Israel through emigration is far lower than any other group — while respecting your scholarship and broad knowledge, is embarrassed by you.

You are 79 years old. May you live to 120. In the 40 years remaining to you, you will have ample opportunity to do two things: a) find the creativity in sacred Torah learning, and b) apologize for this uncalled-for and capricious public insult.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1088)