Shara, you seem to be more than a bit confused on the nature of a democracy (or a republic). As much as you want to divest yourself from the American government, you cannot. Even if you did not vote for the person currently in office, as a citizen, the United States government is your government. The Israeli state represents the Israeli people. Democracies are imperfect representation, but they are representation nevertheless. To criticize a democracy is to criticize an elected government of the people...in other words, to criticize the people. And what's wrong with criticizing the Israeli people? Stand up for your views. I'm not afraid to criticize the Palestinian people who elected Hamas as their government. If you think the Israeli people are wrong, don't be afraid to say so. It makes the argument that much more interesting :-D. And yes, I feel that to be against the Jewishstate in principle is to be against the Jewish people. Sure, you can be against some of the actions of the state, i.e. the withdrawal in Gaza not long ago. I know many religious Jews who did not support this withdrawal, and it would take a lot of chutzpah to say that these were against the Jewish people. I reject the Neturei Karta--anyone a willing guest of Ahmadinejad is someone to watch out for. I don't understand how being against the idea of a Jewish state is not being against Jews. And of course, I have a lot more to say, including replies to specific comments, but it's past my bedtime. If only the Arab-Israeli conflict was that simple. -Ben