There are four distinct ethnic groups among Jews: (1) Ethiopian Jews or Falashas, (2) Oriental Jews or Mizrahim, and finally European Jews, among whom (3) Ashkenazim, and (4) Sephardim.
1. Ethiopian Jews
2. Oriental Jews, the Mizrahim
3. European Jews, Ashkenazim and Sepharadim
4. Israel
5. Summary of the High Ashkenazi Intelligence
1. Ethiopian Jews
They are Ethiopians who converted to Judaism. They were tested as soon as they arrived in Israel.
Their mean IQ is 68, virtually equal to the intellectual level of Africans in sub-Saharan Africa (71).
2. Oriental Jews, the Mizrahim
They belong to the “Middle Eastern and North African” (MENA) racial group, although their endogamy has resulted in a distinct ethnic group.
Their average IQ is 91, seven points above the MENA average of 84.
3. European Jews, Ashkenazim and Sepharadim
3.1 Ashkenazi Jews
Their average IQ is about 110, the highest in the world (Europe, America, South Africa). They also have the highest standard deviation, at 17, increasing their representation among the highest IQ levels.
With a population of only about 10 million, they have won at least one-third of the world’s Nobel Prizes and represent around 50% of top-level chess champions.
There is a link between their high intelligence and the particularly high frequency of certain genetic diseases in their population.
Ashkenazim also have the highest frequency of myopia at birth; myopia is correlated at about +0.25 with human intelligence. The explanation could be a pleiotropic gene, i.e., a gene that impacts both the eyes and the central nervous system, namely the brain. It should be noted that the eyes are extensions of the central nervous system. Kirkegaard et al. (2019) show that Ashkenazi Jews have a higher GWAS score for educational attainment (mainly high IQ genes) as compared to non-Jewish Europeans.
3.2 Sepharadim
They are Jews from Portugal and Spain. In addition to these two countries, they are mainly found in the Balkans. Their average IQ is 98, which is 5.5 points higher than that of the indigenous population of the Balkans (92.5).
4. Israel
The Israeli population is composed of:
-
40% European Jews, with a mean IQ of 103
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40% Mizrahim, with a mean IQ of 91
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20% Arabs, with a mean IQ of 84 (similar to the level reported in samples from North Africa and the Middle East)
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a small percentage of Ethiopian Jews, with a mean IQ of 68
The average IQ of the state of Israel is 95, which is 4 points below the average of Western Europe. However, because this is 11 points above the Middle East average (84), Israel is the only country in the region to be considered developed, with a very high Human Development Index (0.935) and a per capita GDP of about $28,400 (2009 estimate).
Table 6.7. Intelligence in Israel
| # | Age | N | Test | g | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13-14 | 200 | WISC | 95 | Ortar, 1952 |
| 2 | 11-15 | 267 | SPM | 95 | Moyles & Wolins, 1973 |
| 3 | 10-12 | 180 | LT | 97 | Miron, 1977 |
| 4 | 10-12 | 268 | SPM | 95 | Globerson, 1983 |
| 5 | 11 | 2,781 | SPM | 89 | Lancer & Rim, 1984 |
| 6 | 5 | 52 | CPM | 96 | Tzuriel & Caspi, 1992 |
| 7 | 9-15 | 1,740 | SPM | 90 | Lynn, 1994a |
| 8 | 13 | – | SPM | 96 | Kozulin, 1998 |
| Σ | Summary | 5,488 | 95 | Median (Lynn) |
5. Summary of High Ashkenazi Intelligence
References for the entire page and the summary:
Lynn, R. (2011).
The Chosen People: A Study of Jewish Intelligence and Achievement
Washington Summit Publishers.
Cochran, G., & Harpending, H. (2009).
The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution
Basic Books.
Deary, I. J., Cox, S. R., & Ritchie, S. J. (2018).
What genome-wide association studies reveal about the association between intelligence and physical health, illness, and mortality.
Current Opinion in Psychology, 27, 6–12.
Kirkegaard, E. O. W., & Lasker, J. (2019).
Polygenic scores mediate the Jewish phenotypic advantage in educational attainment and cognitive ability compared with Catholics and Lutherans.
Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 13(4), 325–343.