In the "Where Progressives Differ" thread, Meteor Blades asked that we not debate the merits of our positions within that thread. I will respect that by expanding my post within a diary entry.
I had chosen 'Israel' because I perceive my position as contrary to the positions of both major political parties. It is my feeling that any criticism of Israel is immediately taken to be 'anti-Israel', much the same as criticism of the conflict in Iraq is considered by some as anti-U.S.
The Jewish people needed a homeland in which they could be who they are without fear of legal or social restrictions. Human societies dislike and fear those who differ from them and Jews were seen throughout history as different or 'other'.
Regrettably, injustice was done to Palestinians in order to find a just solution to the problem of a Jewish homeland.
Given that the State of Israel was created by dispossessing an established group of people of their land, it is obvious that the seeds for future conflict were sown at her creation. Could anyone have reasonably expected the Palestinians to accept the fate chosen for them by others?
The Arab states surrounding Israel have not acceped her creation, nor have they sought to relieve the Palestinians of their suffering. To have done so would have been a tacit recognition of Israel's right to exist.
The Palestinians are in an impossible situation.
GeorgeM in South Jersey