1948 32% of the population of nearly two million people were Jewish, yet the UN resolution awarded over half the land to the newcomers, who seized even more territory after their decisive victories against the Arabs in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973 as well as occupying major portions of the West Bank and Gaza to quell any rebellion against Israel.
Americans tend to think that Israel has existed forever, however since the Romans conquered the Hebrews no Jewish state existed for almost 2000 years. We have seen countless movies about the struggle to establish a homeland for a people persecuted by the Nazis almost to the point of extinction. Our sympathies were heightened by the romanticism of EXODUS. No president has ever really spoken out against the apartheid democracyversus Goliath. Israel has touted their relationship to the young shepherd downing the giant throughout the wars against their neighbors without ever mentioning the help of the West. They were never really alone, but few Arab states have openly supported the PLO or Hamas on a military basis in fear of earning the wrath of the Big Dog of the USA.
The most recent escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip has resulted in over a hundred dead on both sides, although the Palestinians are taking a beating from their arch-nemesis.
Low-tech rockets in one direction and top of the line bombs and missiles in the other.
Egypt has offered terms for a ceasefire.
Israel demands no hostile fire from Gaza and an end of arms shipments to Hamas, while their fellow