‘Do the Jews Really Control America?’

Richard Dawkins and Fatima Hajaig might think Jews control America, but do they?

Of course not. But that doesn’t stem endless speculating. I mentioned last week the popularity of Jewish conspiracy theories in Asia. Check out this headline that a blogger for The New Yorker found in a Chinese newspaper: “Do the Jews Really Control America?”

The headline belongs to this article by Qi Yunhong. I have no idea what Qi is saying either, so I’ll let Evan Osnos explain:

The piece goes on to explore Kissinger’s role in the Nixon and Ford Administrations and cites a purported Fortune magazine story which found that, among the forty richest Americans in 1982, four of every ten were Jews. But that’s where the piece takes a distinctly Chinese turn: the author answers his titular question with a hopeful yes, noting that the Jewish people—known to be “permeated with wisdom, full of wit and talent”—the people who gave us Einstein, Freud, Marx, Spielberg—occupy a healthy position of influence in America. Indeed, it is one of rather surprising things that Jewish expats discover upon arrival in China: China is especially good for the Jews. As Chinese friends often say, Jews and Chinese have a lot in common, including a shared emphasis on education, family ties, and migration. China’s bear hug, however, can still catch you by surprise. In an airport lounge not long ago, I sat across from a guy reading a business self-help book entitled, in Chinese, “Why Are the Jews Capable of Making Money: Unlocking the World’s Foremost Merchants’ Money-Making Secrets.”

Sounds like a combination of “Jewish Wisdom for Business Success,” “Jews and Money” and “The Jewish Century.”