DougR - you say "it is difficult, I believe, to arbitrarily separate a democratic government, as Israel is , from it's people.". This seems to imply that you view critising the actions of any government as a form of racism. For example, in 1985, French security forces bombed the Greenpeace ship The Rainbow Warrior. Many people around the world regarded this as an act of state terrorism. No-one who had this view was ever accused of hating all French people as a result! Does this leap only occur when we're talking about Israel? If so, why? Martina.