>This I have to agree with. I'm not sure the Jews should have received their own land, regardless of who originated there first (afterall, that in itself is debateable). I think they should have been integrated into their birth countries instead and given equal rights and equal treatment.

I think a little history is in order here. The area that's now called Israel was never an independent country in the modern era until 1948. It was part of the Ottoman empire until WWI, after which it was part of the British empire under a form of control called a mandate. The mandate meant that the British were to supervise until the locals were ready to govern.

Jews had lived in what was then called Palestine continuously under the rule of many different empires. In the late 1800's, with the rise of Zionism, many more Jews immigrated to that area. With financial help from Jewish organizations in other parts of the world, they drained swamps and reclaimed deserts to make the land arable.

The British decided very early in this period that Palestine should become a homeland for the Jews, issuing the Balfour declaration:

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

In 1947, following Hitler's attempts to extinguish all Jews, the British asked the UN to resolve the situation of this land. The UN proposed a partition of the land into Jewish and Arab states. The Jews accepted the plan; the Arabs rejected it.

As I noted elsewhere, you do not have to be Jewish to be a citizen of Israel or to serve in the government.

Tamar