Yes, it is obvious if you think about it and for the same reason as Asians. Culture.
I saw it 40 years ago in my high school. The Jewish kids where predominant in the advanced placement courses, especially in the sciences. Not all of them were 'scholars' but they sure as hell had a very high percentage that were. The were far more likely than others to study hard, work hard and they took learning far more serious than most of us did as teenagers. .
My parents would have been happy if I were honor roll, but they they didn't demand anything other than 'average' from me. I just wanted to pass and get through and for the most part the did minimum amount of work necessary. Many of those Jewish kids would be in real trouble at home if they weren't on the honor roll. It was expected of them.
That was part of their culture that came from Europe with them and their parents enforced it on them. They knew that to succeed in anything, they could not be 'just as good' as their competitors but better than their competitors. They didn't hope for some job at the mill and a nice car after high school. They deferred gratification and prepared themselves to became the doctors, the lawyers and the business owners who could succeed on skills and knowledge.
Frankly, it's good to see that all these years later, that culture has not disintegrated. I personally don't subscribe to the genetic stuff where some races are smarter than others. I am convinced that it is culture and how the kid was raised and the expectation placed on that individual that make the difference.