That comparison is a bit tricky to localize to specifically Jewish culture, versus the other ways Israelis on average differ from their neighbors. They are also more European, for example, in the sense of having a significant proportion of the population who in fairly recent history had lived in Europe for generations, and in many cases participated closely in European institutions (e.g. pre-WW2 German and Polish physics research). Especially the first post-'48 generation had much of its science/technology leadership driven by people who had been prominent scientists/technologists in Europe before the Nazis forced them out.