[watoc]

That's a very slippery slope if you justify the colonization of Palestine by Israel because it was part of a jewish kingdom thousands of years ago. Spain has been muslim for centuries would that be acceptable if they settled again there by force?

[nailer]

There is no colonisation to justify or otherwise, there was a continuous use of the land by Jewish people since this time. The name 'Palestinea' only came about as a punishment by the Romans for Simon bar Kokhba.

Not that Wikipedia itself is a good source, but thi has a bunch of references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_bar_Kokhba

> In the aftermath of the war, Hadrian consolidated the older political units of Judaea, Galilee and Samaria into the new province of Syria Palaestina, which is commonly interpreted as an attempt to complete the disassociation with Judaea.

[watoc]

There has been a continuous use of the land by Christians and Muslims for centuries as well. So because Judaism has existed the longest they have the right to expel everybody else or best case scenario, make them second-class citizen (Law of Return, Jewish National Fund ...). There has also been a continuous presence of native Americans for much longer than Europeans in North America...

If you're denying that colonization even exists it will be difficult to have a discussion based on facts.

[nailer]

I’m not denying there has been Arabs and other groups there. The situation regarding expelling is in many cases more more likely to do with people avoiding tax under the Ottomans (if you didn't own a field you were using, you couldn't be taxed on it) than forced expulsion though.

You’re also confusing a religion with an ethnicity in your comment. The issue is Arabs and Jewish people not anything to do with Islam, Christianity or atheism.

[watoc]

> The issue is Arabs and Jewish people not anything to do with Islam, Christianity or atheism.

Religion has a lot to do with the issue. Religion and ethnicity are often strongly related especially for Jews. Judaism is the main element that identifies Jews together and the vast majority of Arabs living in Israel/Palestine are Muslims.

[nailer]

Yes but race is an innate quality, whereas religion is a chosen belief. One cannot compare a race with a religion.

More Jews (eg, non religious Jews) are ethnically Jewish than spiritually Jewish (eg converts, which are generally quite rare).