There is a tendency to not acknowledge our debt to gentiles at all. However, the Talmud says,''Wisdom by goyim-believe it. Torah by goyim don't believe it.'' On the other hand, the debt to Jews also tends to be ignored. Examples are many. One case that I thought was an example was my father's invention of the Infrared Telescope as mentioned in LIFE Magazine 1954 AUGUST, but later I learned that my dad did in fact get plenty of credit for that.
Maybe the reason for all the denial on each side of the aisle is that the idea is so important that you do not want people to ignore it just because of which group it comes from.
Jews never like to hear of any debt of ideas from Christians what so ever, but are willing to acknowledge some debt to some great Muslim philosophers during the Middle Ages. On the other hand, it might be noticed that the not just the Old Testament, but the New Testament was written only by Jews.
To me the whole idea of refusing to acknowledge a debt on either side of the aisle seems like small mindedness.
