Well, in my time I have also done some physical labor, and I cannot say I look back on those days with any fondness. To be honest, most of us probably wouldn't do hard physcal labor if there was another option. So in this I really don't blame the Jew.  Yeah, I don't think too many people enjoy doing backbreaking, physical labor. But do you look down upon the working man with disdain? Do you see the laborer and the farmer as being inferior to you? Do you view doing manual labor and farming as being disgraceful and something to be ashamed of? Do you think it makes someone less of a man? If so....you may be a Jew:p Some like to claim that Jesus was a Jew..but I say no..that couldn't possibly be...Jesus couldn't possibly have been a Jew. Why you may ask? He and his father were both carpenters:D Jews won't disgrace themselves by getting their hands dirty and breaking a sweat doing manual labor like a carpenter.     Now, another thing we should be truthful about, is the Jew were excluded from many types of jobs in Europe, and maybe to a lesser degree in the US. I don't know if being a miner or farmer were one of them, but their exclusion must be taken into account when discussing the types of employment they were involved in.   It is true. That's how they got involved in money changing, banking and what not in the first place. At the time, the Catholic church aka the supreme rulers of Europe viewed money changing as sinful, something that a Christian shouldn't do, basically in the same way that Jews view manual labor. They(the Church/Christians) thought it was sinful, shameful and something unbecoming of a Christian. Jews at the time, due to religious reasons, were of course discriminated against and were indeed blackballed from a lot of occupations, Christians wouldn't hire a Jew just like a WASP wouldn't hire an Irish Catholic. But because money changing was something no respectable Christian at the time would choose to be involved in, it was one of the few occupations open to the Jew, this is how so many Jews got involved in banking and money lending and became rich. The Catholic church created a monster it seems.... Jews often times would also work as jewelers, silversmiths and goldsmiths and such, that is why so many of them have names like Goldsmith, Goldstein, Silverman, Ruby, Diamond,etc...all of those names involving precious metals and gems, occasionally they may have just chose those names because they thought they sounded cool but usually it was occupational in nature.    Again to be honest, I think their exclusion from other occupational fields worked to their advantage.   It sure did, you can say that again:rolleyes:   The fact they are dominant in the diamond business, finance, and many are pawn brokers may go back to the time of their exclusion from other types of work.   It certainly does. Personally, I'm not really so concerned with just how a Jew obtained his wealth and/or power, maybe by legitimate means or maybe by treachery, who knows, in most cases, I'm sure it's probably a little of both. In reality, not many people(Jew or gentile) become rich and successful, self-made businessmen, bankers and such without cutting a few corners now and then or having the right connections. I think most rich and successful businessmen whether Jew or gentile have at one point or another in their career engaged in some questionable behavior and tactics to get to the point they are, it's a pretty cutthroat racket. I'm more concerned with what they do with this power and wealth once they obtain it, and it seems that most often, whatever they choose to do with their wealth and power is only beneficial for the Jews and only negative for the gentiles.   This is just my speculation. However, many do have names with Diamond, Gold and Silver in them   Didn't I just say that!:p I hadn't yet read this part of your post. Yes, it is indeed true that most Jewish families obtained those names involving precious metals and gems as occupational names because wayy back in the days all the way back to Medieval times, just as now, many Jews were jewelers, goldsmiths, silversmiths, money lenders and such by occupation.