First off, you or anyone is quite free to criticize actions of the Israeli government. And I don’t care much for the current one meself. But the line is crossed when the legitimacy of Israel itself is questioned or denied. My feelings are, either one supports People’s Liberation Movements or not. I do. And Zionism is the Jewish People’s Liberation Movement. There are lots of different Zionists, from B.G. to Jabotinsky. Unhappily, the latter seems to have been more prescient lately.
Do you know that there was an entente between Prince Faisal and Chaim Weizmann, with hopes of building a Jewish/Arab confederation? Those were dashed, though, when anti-Semites in the British Army put forth Haj Amin el Husseini for Mufti of Jerusalem. He had actually fought in the Ottoman army, as an officer no less. The repercussions of that live yet with Israel and its neighbors.
And what are your news sources anyhow about what’s happened since the 70s? I’d really like to know.
And let us hope that Israel’s survival and, indeed, flourishing as a democracy will NOT be in question, although anyone who’s read history might see it differently. After the prelude to WWII, can anyone deny that Jews need somewhere to stand and to be able to defend themselves as there will ALWAYS be those among the powerful who WILL want to finish the Shoah? I happen to believe Israel can only REALLY flourish as a democracy and that such flourishing is in direct proportion to how much democracy it hath. Maybe the same can be said for any nation or people.
Have you heard of the ‘cantons’ idea for Israel/Palestine? If it can be made to work…