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As far as I know, Jewish people began going into finance because it was the only field allowed them barring being domestic servants. They weren't considered tr
by dismantlethesun 10y ago
As far as I know, Jewish people began going into finance because it was the only field allowed them barring being domestic servants.
They weren't considered true citizens of the nations they resided in and were not allowed to own land, join any profession that had a guild, etc.
This was exacerbated by the fact that until near the end of the middle ages, usury considered unbecoming of Christians and distinctly sinful (an ideal shared by modern day Islam). By not being Christians, Jews were free to become bankers and this later was enforced by aforementioned laws forcing them to only be bankers.
> Does this mean we need to have an initiative to get more non Jewish people into banking? Most people will say certainly not.
I would say this means we have to look into why we as a society still look down on banking professionals, and treat it as a necessary evil at best.