Guest Marie,

Have you ever wondered *what* "God chose" them for? Perhaps thousands of years of suffering?

There is a line in "Fiddler on the roof" that sums it up (paraphrase), "Lord, I know we're your chosen, but could you choose someone else for awhile?"

As a non-jew, I am not in the least insensed by the term "chosen people". I have read what it means in biblical terms. They were chosen to carry a message, as a conduit for information that was eventually to be given to the whole of the world. They were the way to keep the message intact, so that it was not lost. Why is this so threatening?

The Jewish tradition, of all the 3 religions that stem from this same root (Christianity and Islam being the other 2) is the one religion that does *not* seek to convert the world. There is a saying in Islamic cultures; "First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people". The intent being to wipe out Judaism and then Christianity.

I believe that we have stopped looking to the flip side of the coin. Personally, I like living in the States. I can vote. I can get a job. I don't have to do what my Father/Husband/Brother/any male relative tells me to do. I am not in danger of being beaten for not obeying. I am not branded a "whore" for being a non-muslim (A female friend of mine traveling in Egypt suffered exactly this and worse). I do not have to live in fear of being thrown in jail for being a Christian. I am not forced to wear clothing that covers the entirety of my body (to include my face in some countries) whilst my male counterparts walk freely unhidden, I do not have to obtain permission from the male head of my house to travel outside of my country. Of all the cultures in that part of the world, the Israelis are the *least* guilty when it comes to human rights violations in my view. If I had to live anyplace in that part of the world, I would want it to be under the Israeli government, where I am a person in my own right.

When we deal with the atrocious human rights issues that women in many muslim nations daily live with (not to mention the treatment that Non-Muslims receive living in many islamic nations), then perhaps the issues the muslim world has with Israel might have merit. As of now, it is very much "picking the speck from thy neighbours eye while ignoring the log in thine own".