Transferred from "Paintings Of Interest" thread:

Yes, Cyc, should not infringe on this excellent thread with this topic so apologies in this respect, but I almost knew that that thought would come up. But, you know, a lot of humans never develop a basic working skill or talent, but are tough as nails and will do anything to get their daily food, and, as such, are easily misled by unscrupulous people. Take, as a good example, boxing in the 1920s and '30s, the days of the Great Depression. A lot of the top British boxers in those dark days were of the Jewish faith from London, many of whose parents fled to the UK around 1903 to escape the Russian pogroms directed against them. These lads had nothing, from desperately poor families who could ill-afford to have their children educated, let alone feed them and put a roof over their heads. So, all many of these lads could do was fight, and that's what they did. Trying to remember a few names, Jack 'Kid' Berg, Ted 'Kid' Lewis, Harry Mizler, etc. There were a lot more. It was, however, during this period, that the Jewish people, mostly centred around Whitechapel, discovered the virtues of tailoring ("Nevermind the width, feel the quality) and bookmaking, both excellent ways of making cash money.
As an afterthought, and I have mentioned this before I'm sure, I was raised as a child (from 3-months old) in the Borough district of London, pretty close-by Whitechapel. I honestly thought all Jewish people spoke with a London accent, and I was quite taken aback some years later when I heard a Jewish gentleman from Glasgow for the first time. Astonished, in fact.
Here's a massive account of the Jewish boxers in the UK from 1890-1960, entitled "The Hefty Hebrew". Haven't read it myself yet, but I will. I have already noted that the guys did not come from just London, either.
http://www.academia.edu/345584/The_Hefty_Hebrew_Boxing_and_British-Jewish_Identity_1890-1960