Jacob Scheer writes: “The explanation put forward by this article is that Jews have become America’s WASPs. They back the current system of affirmative action because it protects their self-interest as a group with outsize political and social influence. As leaders in the political arena, Jews have an image to maintain as upholders of liberal values like diversity, racial equality, and affirmative action. At the same time, Jewish overrepresentation within the Ivy League can be attributed in part to the opaque admissions programs that at once benefit certain minorities like African-Americans, but hurt other such as Asians. Many find this reminiscent of the numerus clausus that barred Jews from entering these same institutions just a century ago. With racial identity politics more poignant now than at any point since the civil rights era, the Jewish community’s opinions on affirmative action will be under scrutiny.”
* My perennial favourite is the sex disparity in incarceration rates. Is there a clearer example of “disparate impact” in America than that just 5% of prisoners are women? Or how about that despite being 15% of the population, woman over 50 are only 0.01% of arrests? Surely elderly women must be getting away with all sorts of gang-related violence.
