If you want to know about Jews, there are some relevant statistics here: '14 million Jews around the world, representing 0.2% of the global population'; 41% of them in the US, 41% in Israel; numbers of Jews for other countries with fewer Jews than the US or Israel but more Jews than, say, Luxembourg. But, now, here's the standout fact:
Globally, Jews are older... than the overall global population...
Do you get that? I mean, how can we be older? Granted, I - who is Jewish - am older than both of the kids next door, who are not. But, on the other hand, I am younger than all those non-Jews who are older than I am. And a very young Jew will be younger than more non-Jews still. So it may be puzzling to you to read that Jews are older.
Puzzle no more. I'll explain it. Jews are older because we keep coming across bigots like Stephen Hawking, who favours an academic boycott of Israel, and the more than two-thirds of entrants to this poll on the Guardian website who think he is right. Such people enjoy believing that Israel is a uniquely bad country (and that its academics are a uniquely bad bunch), but without being able to explain why in the face of massive evidence to the contrary. And they are secure in the virtue of their motivations, as bigots generally are. Bigotry - here is my hypothesis - ages those on the receiving end of it.