The secret power of the Jews that influences the world economy
Revealed in the flow of history

Israel's economic performance is dazzling.
Even amidst the global economic crisis, it is showing indicators such as the lowest unemployment rate, a booming real estate market, and the world's highest ratio of R&D investment to GDP.
How did the wealth of the Jewish people, who control the economic powerhouse of the United States, come about in a country not rich in resources and gripped by the constant fear of war with Islamic states? Having worked at KORTA for 22 years and experienced diverse economic environments around the world, the author offers a panoramic view of how the Jewish people, who have shaped economic history, achieved their current success.

This book is a documentary written in an easy and concise style.
Rather than a brief description of a phenomenon or event, it examines world history horizontally, starting from the Sumerian civilization where Abraham, the ancestor of the Jews, lived, through ancient, medieval, and modern times to the present day, and then vertically weaves together the development of science and technology within that larger flow to provide a three-dimensional understanding of economic history.


Additionally, the book separately selects the history of topics that would be of interest to general readers, such as 'salt' and 'diamonds', which shook the world economy, and explains the role played by Jews and the significance of these in economic history, connecting them to the chronological flow.
This historical fact-focused narrative might at first raise the question of whether this book is simply a history book. However, through a narrative style that is easily accessible to the general reader, it provides deep and broad insights that allow us to see at a glance the characteristics of the Jews and the flow of world economic history that we previously did not know much about.


While existing economics books have presented narrow narratives limited to the United States, Europe, China, and Japan, this book seeks to understand the present and foundation of the global economy through the history of Jews and Jews, and presents solutions and problems for how we can overcome the economic crisis and find economic power in the 21st century.

The strength of the Jewish people stems entirely from Judaism.
The characteristic of Judaism is that it is a religion of covenant.
For them, a contract is an obligation that must be kept at the risk of their lives.
This is why they value not only contracts with God but also commercial contracts.
They were able to shape world economic history through exchanges based on commercial and financial contracts between distant Jewish communities.
Judaism also values ​​learning.
To understand God's providence, we must learn at least one more thing.
Therefore, Judaism considers learning to be a religious life, just like prayer.
This is another reason why the Jews were able to demonstrate their power in world history, differentiating them from other peoples.
Furthermore, Judaism teaches through the Torah that all Jews are brothers.
The Law commands unity and cooperation among Jews in brotherly love.
A strong community spirit, rooted in the power of faith, is what enabled them to endure through a history of suffering.
---From "Jewish History Corresponds to the Bible"

The four thousand years of Jewish history can be summed up in one word: a history of wandering.
The 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the 40 years spent in the wilderness after escaping from Egypt, the period of captivity when the nation was taken from Assyria and Babylon, and the 2,000 years of being scattered around the world by the Roman Empire were all a history of wandering and persecution.
This journey of trial and wandering was a difficult and arduous journey for them at the time, but in economic history, it was also a 'path of grace' that created the wealth and influence of the Jews today.
---From "Abraham the Chosen, From Ur to Canaan"

Exodus is a Greek word meaning escape.
In Jewish history, the Exodus, the great escape of the Jews from Egypt led by Moses, is the most important focal point of Jewish faith.
This event also holds an important place in Israeli history and culture.
Through this, Israel finally establishes its identity.
---From "Exodus, Escape from Egypt"

Even today, historians are accustomed to writing history centered on states and monarchs.
However, the Phoenicians, Israelites, and Greeks valued individual life, not the state or monarchy.
They believed that all humans were equal, except slaves and foreigners.
He believed that the accumulation of wealth was necessary for humans to achieve freedom.
Moreover, they believed that poverty was a kind of threat, and that rather, developing and accumulating material wealth was the way to secure a free life and get closer to God.
In a word, the Phoenicians, the Israelites, and the Greeks were people who believed that the future of humanity should and could be better than the present through human free will.
History was able to progress thanks to them.
Thus, the Phoenicians, Israelites, and Greeks revered freedom and considered the accumulation of wealth a blessing from God.
This idea became the basis of Greek and Hebrew thought that formed capitalism.
Economic history has largely overlooked their enterprising overseas market exploration and commercial activities, confining them to the time frame of antiquity.
However, it is only by reexamining them as the starting point of capitalism that we can truly call it economic history.
---From "The Commercial Struggle Between Phoenicia, Israel, and Greece"

Solon attempted to cancel debts by imitating the Jewish Jubilee.
The Jubilee is a Jewish institution that occurs every 50 years, during which all debts are forgiven, land is returned to its original owners, and all slaves are freed.
Leviticus 25:8-55 of the Old Testament provides detailed explanations of the 'Jubilee calculation method', 'the proclamation of the Day of Atonement', 'the regulations regarding the fallow period', and 'the liberation of slaves'.
It is said that the Jubilee signifies the restoration of the equal community that was the ideal of the Israelites.
They hoped to build an equal kingdom of God once again through the Jubilee Law.
So, during the Jubilee, debts were forgiven, slaves were set free, and prisoners were pardoned.
Furthermore, he gave a time of rest to livestock and land.
---From "Solon's Reforms, Democracy and Land Private Property"

Throughout history, Christians have been largely illiterate for a long time.
Only the priests knew how to write.
So, in Christianity, iconography was developed to help illiterate believers understand the contents of the Bible at a glance.
On the other hand, Judaism transformed into a moving religion through a history of suffering and tribulation, and because of the responsibility to keep the religion, everyone was required to read the Bible after the bar mitzvah at the age of thirteen.
This is precisely why Jews were able to dominate commerce in the Middle Ages.
One of the most important daily tasks of a medieval Jewish merchant was writing.
They were required to write at least three or four letters a week and, in addition, to keep detailed ledgers of their business activities.
When receiving and shipping goods, relevant supporting documents had to be enclosed, and a list of goods sold in the market had to be prepared, the prices had to be checked regularly, and these had to be sent to business associates or rabbis.
---From "The Rebirth of Judaism, Its Transformation into a Moving Religion"

In Jewish society, the welfare system for poor fellow countrymen was strengthened.
Since the Temple period, Jewish communities have had free lodgings.
In addition, every synagogue had a collection box called a 'kuppah'.
This fundraiser is the focal point of the Jewish welfare community.
The synagogue had a charity worker who would go around the market and ordinary households every Friday morning to collect money and supplies, and distribute the collected items on the same day.
Those in need of temporary relief received enough to survive, while those in need of permanent relief received two meals a day, fourteen meals a week.
This relief fund was called 'Kupa' or 'Gwangjuri Fund', and in this way, poor Jews in the Jewish community had the 'right' to receive relief.
---From "The Fall of Babylon and the Return of the Jews"

Anti-Semitism can be classified into three categories: theological (anti-Judaism), racial (anti-Semitism), and political (anti-Zionism) anti-Semitism.
Everyone is working towards the common goal of exterminating the Jews.
In fact, this movement began with the emergence of the Jewish people.
Most rulers of areas where Jews lived pursued anti-Jewish policies.
The Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II tried to exterminate the ancient Jews who lived within his kingdom when they became a nation.
It was because they had become so numerous that they felt they were a threat to him.
Also, Haman, the minister of King Xerxes of Persia, made every effort to eradicate all Jews as the influence of Persian Jews grew.
---From "The Beginning of the Jewish Riots, the First Jewish-Roman War"

Jewish commercial and trading activities led to the development of consumer industries.
The development of the silk, leather, and ceramic industries, as well as the gold, silver, and glass industries, brought in merchants from outside, along with talented technicians and scientists.
At that time, the Iberian Peninsula was far superior to any other region in Europe in terms of commerce, culture, and science.
Afterwards, the Islamic kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula not only enjoyed cultural prosperity but also accumulated enormous wealth by dominating Mediterranean trade.
The world's wealth, including gold from Africa, spices from Asia, and wheat from Europe, flocked here.
---“Jewish Life in the Medieval Iberian Peninsula”

If you look at the history of money, new types of currency or economic systems have always been objects of fear.
The appearance of the first gold and silver coins, the first paper money, and the introduction of the first bill of exchange were long regarded with suspicion by the people until they became established.
There was concern that the emergence of a new monetary system might become the seed of bankruptcy.
All these doubts, worries, and anxieties are distrust.
The people who could allay this distrust were the Jews.
They valued their contracts as much as their lives.
The bill of exchange system was able to emerge because the Jews scattered throughout the world had a strong sense of homogeneity as a people and a high level of trust in contracts.
New inventions and advanced methods in finance and accounting have always come from Jews --- from "Jewish Life in the Medieval Iberian Peninsula"

Successful Jewish merchants often form groups to raise funds and provide business information and ideas to help other Jews.
In their society, there has long been an 'interest-free loan system' to help poor compatriots who want to do business.
For anyone looking to start a business or trying to get back on track after a failure, financing is a critical need.
In that respect, it is quite noteworthy that a system of lending business funds without interest existed historically in Jewish society.
This tradition continues to this day, and the success of the Jewish people was possible because of this institutional support.
A representative example is the 'Hebrew Interest-Free Loan Society' that existed in Europe since the 18th century.
This tradition continued even after Jews immigrated to America.
Even today, successful Jews take it for granted that they should donate.
There are over 200 fundraising groups and other community organizations in the United States alone.
---From "Why Jews Dominated Commerce"

In the European market, credit transactions were possible among Jews who valued credit and contracts more than anything else.
It was common to take goods on credit and pay for them at the next market opening or at a market in another country.
At this time, merchants who took goods on credit wrote these details on a piece of paper and gave it as a voucher.
This certificate later developed into a form of forced loan certificate and was used as a substitute for money among Jewish merchants.
During this process, Jewish bankers invented the bill of exchange, which was a document in which one party promised to pay another party a certain amount of money within a certain period of time.
A bill of exchange was different from a letter of credit or a promissory note.
A letter of credit is written in the name of the depositor, and while a promissory note is a promise by the issuer to pay, a bill of exchange is a bill of exchange in which payment is guaranteed by a third party (payer), such as a foreign bank, and is mainly used in international trade transactions.
The circulation of bills of exchange eliminated the need to carry large amounts of cash for overseas trade, making it relatively safe and convenient.
---"The European Economy Revitalized by Eastern Trade and Jewish Finance"

Among the Jewish gem trades, diamonds were the most profitable.
Then, Jewish jewelers collaborated with the Jewish community in India to import rough diamonds directly, process them, and sell them.
From the 3rd century BC for two thousand years, India was the world's only diamond producer.
After Vincent Peruzzi, a Venetian Jew, developed the unique 'brilliant cut' cutting method for diamonds in the late 17th century, diamonds truly became the most precious gem.
(…) As the Antwerp Jews' supply of jewels grew, they began to export the processed goods in collaboration with Jewish communities abroad.
As a result, the diamond industry became a monopoly industry among the Jewish community, with Jews controlling the entire 'import-processing-export-distribution' process.
Because it was a monopoly, it was expensive to call.
The Jews had a firm grip on this market.
---From "The Antwerp Era: Becoming the Center of Diamond Distribution"

Meanwhile, the Dutch government felt the need to protect its people's commercial competitiveness as the Jewish population grew rapidly.
Accordingly, in 1632, a law was passed prohibiting Jews from joining guilds.
At that time, the guild was an organization for monopolizing the relevant industry.
Working hours, types of work, and quality of goods were regulated in detail, and those who did not belong to the guild were not allowed to make or sell goods.
Jews were only permitted to engage in foreign trade and finance, pharmacists, doctors, and the publication of Hebrews, which were less likely to conflict with or compete with their own citizens.
As a result, Jews flocked to the textile and diamond industries, where there were no unions.
The ban on guild membership was a particular blow to Ashkenazi Jews, as Sephardic Jews had already grown large and operated outside the guilds as wholesalers.
However, these restrictions by the Dutch government actually proved to be a tonic for the Jews.
As the scale of industry and trade grew, Jews, excluded from commerce, focused their efforts on the financial industry that supported the real economy, and naturally, they led the financial and securities industries.
Afterwards, as the financial industry led the real economy, Jewish capital accumulation progressed rapidly.
---From "The Jews Who Built the Foundation of Modern Capitalism"

After the Puritan Revolution in England, Jews were like fish in water.
The reason is that the Puritan spirit had a Jewish character.
The Puritans inherited the spirit of the Old Testament and sought God in it.
This is one of the reasons why the Puritans were called the 'Jewish sect'.
There was a great deal in common between Puritans and Judaism.
The world's religions teach us to reject wealth and curb greed.
Catholicism teaches not to be greedy for money and wealth, Buddhism preaches 'non-possession', which means to give up all material desires and empty the mind, and Hinduism teaches that one should not possess anything at all.
Islam also demands the abandonment of material desires.
While most religions teach the abandonment of material desires, only two religions recognize wealth and emphasize the doctrine that it is okay to be rich.
These two religions are Judaism and Puritanism.
Calvin emphasized the 'clean rich', and Judaism also has in common the emphasis that the rich are blessed.
However, Judaism did not forget the warning that wealth can make people arrogant and forget God, and that greed for money leads people to injustice and corruption.
---From "Cromwell's England Welcomes the Jews"

In short, they constantly sought 'better, easier, cheaper, and faster' ways based on comprehensive information in the 18th-century economic system.
And in this process, ‘rationalism’ was pursued.
This was an early understanding of the principle that wealth in the world is created by helping others.
Since ancient times, Jews have been faithful to the 'entrepreneurial spirit' of identifying and satisfying customers' needs and desires faster than competitors.
Therefore, accumulating wealth means satisfying customers by providing much better value than competitors.
It was the so-called 'customer satisfaction management' discussed in modern management studies.
The Jewish commercial talent and customer-oriented management were also evident in their ability to neutralize the British craftsmen's guilds, which were bound by tradition and norms, in the late 17th century.

---From "Jews, Changing the World with Customer Satisfaction Management"