One can certainly say that Jews were very disproportionately represented in the Communist ranks, the Jews after all had good reason to loathe the Tsar. It is also fair to say that among the oligarchs who cashed in big time in 1991 and made vast fortunes buying up government assets at fire-sale prices Jews were again very disproportionately represented.
Neither statement is mutually contradictory. The same can also be said of pre-WWII Germany where Jews were over-represented among the leading capitalists and communists.
They were also over-represented in the ranks of musicians, scholars, lawyers, doctors etc so what conclusion to draw? I have no idea.
I live in SE Asia and the Chinese community have a similar profile here, over-represented in the business community, media, medicine etc and resented equally as much and just as much blamed for all society’s ills (oddly enough the Chinese were also to the forefront in Communist agitation in the 50’s and 60’s). I believe in Africa the Indians fit the same bill.
If an ethnic community gets a reputation for opting for professions where brainpower rather than brawn (you don’t see too many Chinese in Malaysia or Indonesia tending rice paddies or on building sites) then it is only human nature that they will end up being resented, unfairly, for their success.
I dare say the wealthy in their gated communities and air-conditioned malls can live with such resentment, it’s a bit harder on those further down the totem pole running their small shop or enterprise who face the day to day reality of such resentment.
Jews, Indians and Chinese are smart and that breeds resentment
it's tragiccomic that in the inter-war years Jews were demonized by capitalists as communists, while communists took the Rothschilds as an example to demonize Jews on their side. The poor Jews in their shtethls who didn't know Marx or the Rothschilds was attacked by both sides.
Interesting points. I've heard that the Chinese actually will refer to themselves as east Asia's "Jews," for all the reasons you point out.
In 15th C. Spain, Jewish people who had survived (and often thrived) under the Moors, tended to be the best educated, most competent subjects of the Christian Spanish crown--and were "over-represented" in leadership roles of all kinds....and the Christian Spanish got jealous. Along with fighting the Moors, Jews too started to become targets, culminating later in the Spanish Inquisition.... so that with the ejection of the Moors in 1492, also came the forced ejection (or forced "conversion") of the Jews.
Apparently today 20%+ of Spanish men have Semitic (Jewish or Moorish) DNA...