It is popular among some Jewish communities to claim that, because of things like dietary restrictions, Jews have gotten the historical jump on science. Ie. Jews can't eat shellfish -> shellfish can be bad for you -> less Jews die. I've heard the same for things like STDs and heart condititions.
Recently I heard this taken a step further, when a speaker at an event I was attending claimed in passing that European Jews were generally spaired during the black plague. Is there any truth to this?
hi! other responses are welcome here, but fyi there was a similar question a few months ago, which contains some links to some academic articles and a couple of earlier posts