Is it because Jewish Kings ruled Israel thousands of years ago that Israel has the right to kick out the Palestinians and make a Jewish country - if so then Arabs have a right to rule Spain?

Answer 1

Since this question is contentious, the answers have been annotated with the general opinion put forward by the contributor.

Answer 1: Jews returned to their historic homeland and adequately defended it

The Jewish people originally believed that the land was given to them by God, which is why they were able to inhabit and control the area. The area has been part of their Holy Land since before the rise of Islam.

They created an independent society there due to prejudice and persecution in many of the countries where they lived, off and on for hundreds of years. The building of the new society began in the 1880's and culminated in independence in 1948, following the murder of 6,000,000 Jews in the Nazi Holocaust.

Right now the area is smaller than it could be as they devastated the militaries of most of the neighboring Arab countries during the six day war, which involved them grabbing a great deal of land, most of which they ended up returning.

Answer 2: "Kicking People Out" is Historically Normative

Note that as for "kicking people out", although this is now considered wrong, in the late forties millions of people in many countries were kicked out of their homes, and were driven further away than the Palestinians and involving much larger distances, So it wasn't unique, just Israel is the only country that still gets blamed for it. (The other countries that suffered exiles like this are Russia, Poland, Germany, Finland, Pakistan, and India.)

Answer 3: Jews are divided on whether or not to even support Israel

Not all Jews share the same meaning on Israel; many of them are Zionists, and live in Israel. Others are anti-Zionists (these include many Jews outside of Israel). They are Jewish, and share the same believe as the Israelis, but they don't see the point in having a Jewish state. These Jews cherish their ancestry, but just practice Judaism in other countries.

Answer 4: In this world Might Makes Right

In this world, unfortunately, Right is the right of force. The Jews were not the first to rule Palestine, just as the Arabs were not the first to rule Spain. Also, one man's displacement is another man's holy cause, just as one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. The world is what it is, and no one can change it for long. Once you accept and understand this pattern, it becomes easier to live with. This contributor has also been displaced from his home, and he can never go back because it no longer exists except in his memory.

Answer 5: Killing people is against Human Rights

It is unfair to kill innocent lives and destroy a defenseless country because before the Muslims the JEWS ruled it it just like saying ARABS have the right to kill all Spanish people because they ruled Spain before? Murder is obviously against human rights.

Answer 6: Israel has not actually kicked out the Palestinians

Israel hasn't. You go to Israel and you wont find it too hard to find a Palestinian Arab.

The Jews haven't "kicked out the all Palestine people" in 1948, the Jewish Leaders asked the Arabs to stay, the Arab Leaders, (ie the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and so on) told them to flee Israel, while they destroyed it, and then the Arabs could move back in. (BTW, until this point a Jew living there would be called a Palestinian (not an Arab Israel is still here, and the Arabs who fled, are now wishing they had done what Israel said. If you think Israel "kicked out all Palestinian people" then look what the Arabs did to the Jews all over the Arab world (The Arab world was 2% Jewish). Anyway look at Gaza - how many Jews live there? None, and the Jews that were there, and had lived there for years were really dragged out of their homes. Israel is 0.2% of the Arab world, but before Israel as I said the Jews had an 2% population.

Answer 7: Nation-Building for a Minority unfortunately leads to Displacement

NO. Irridentism is not the reason Israel was established. It is because the Jews had no homeland, but for many centuries had no civil rights in much of Europe and the Middle East. It is not as if the Arabs tried to take back Spain. It is more as if there was no Arab or Muslim country at all, and the Arabs had to live as minorities in various countries where lots of people hated them and blamed them for all the worlds' problems. And every few generations it got dangerous and they had to move to Another Country. Displacing some of the Palestinians WAS WRONG, but was it more wrong than displacing the Prussian Germans, the East Poles, the Karelians, the Ionian Turks, the Sindhi Hindus, etc etc in the same years? Do you hate the Jews for that but not the other people who did all those other transfers? Yes? Well, that is why there is an Israel, not because of the ancient kings.

Answer 2

The entire land of Israel was given to the Jews by God(Genesis ch.28 and elsewhere). This is stated in the Muslims' Koran as well, in its Sura 5, line 21; and Sura 26, line 59. Note that the Jews are willing to live in peace with Palestinians who do not attack them.

Further comments:

Israel is portrayed as an evil country by some of the media, by many U.N. and E.U. statements, and by much of the Arab and Muslim world.This despite the fact that Israel has better human-rights* than any other country in the region.

Israel has been boycotted for decades*, and its citizens have suffered from the conflict*, yet it continues to be optimistic and it enjoys God's protection*.

The presence of the Jews in Israel is questioned by some, despite the Jews' history* in and from Israel, and despite God's clear words* bestowing Israel to them. Words which are recognized by Islam as well*.

Those who condemn and hate Israel for its side in the conflict*, fail to apportion blame to Israel's enemies*, no matter how heinous their actions.

***See the Related Links.

Link: More about Israel

Link: Israeli human rights

Link: Israel boycotted

Link: Israelis suffer

Link: God's protection

Link: History in Israel

Link: God's words

Link: Islam recognizes

Link: Why hate Israel

Link: Israel blamed

Answer 3

NO. The question as posed is very slanted, so these should serve as explanations of why the very undergirding of this question is flawed.

Issue 1: Incorrect Supposition of Forced Exile
First of all, the question makes the supposition that all Palestinians were kicked out, which is very untrue. There certainly were violent raids and attacks on numerous Palestinian villages during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 that resulted in many Palestinians fleeing. However, local and foreign Arab leaders encouraged people to leave because in their minds, after victory against the Jewish State the people could resettle. Many took the risk, only to find out they had chosen the losing side. However, some had stayed. The story of Abu Ghosh, which is an Arab town that allied with the nascent Israel, is still one that continues to this day. Some districts in the Galilee, such as the Jezreel Valley have upwards of 50% Israeli Arab population. Today Israeli Arabs, who consider themselves ethnic Palestinians even though they have Israeli citizenship, make up over 20% of the State of Israel and 1.7 million people.

Issue 2: Jewish Relation to Israel Differs from Arab Relation to Spain
Secondly, your question makes the claim that Arabs have some lingering connection to Spain, either in terms of identity or socially. Jews were deported from Roman Province of Judea by force, they did not choose to leave. This event is very important to the Jewish psyche as that particular piece of land is Holy to the Jewish people. Arabs were a political institution in Spain, not an ethnic institution. This is to say that the majority of people in Iberia during the Arab Rule were native Iberians and Amazigh (Berber Tribes), not Arabs. In fact, most Arab Rulers in Spain married Iberian Christians to dilute their bloodline. The defeat of the Arabs in Spain (both Christians and Amazigh) was a political event as opposed to an identity-or-social event. Arabs today regret losing Spain in the same way the British regret losing their Empire, but this is a political sentiment not a social one.

Issue 3: Irridentism vs. Securing Political and Social Freedoms
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, the idea of the Judenstaat or a Jewish Politically Independent State, came from secular Jews like Herzl and Weizmann. They were not interested in irredentism, but in securing political and social freedoms for Jews. In non-Jewish States, especially in Europe and the Arab World, Jews were denied civil right such as: access to many occupations, rights to mobility and self-defense, protection from attacks (both slander and physical brutality), and being able to factor into politics and nobility. The idea of the Judenstaat was to grant Jews the ability to determine their own future. They chose the current territory of Israel because of the ease of land access (the Ottomans couldn't sell it fast enough to fund their war efforts), its being outside of Europe (as no European power would cede territory to a Judenstaat), and the history of the region would be sure to draw more colonists (Secular Zionists). Religious Zionists did not become a large section of the Israeli population until the mid-60's (and even today they do not comprise more than 20% of the population).