First, Troll, I made a mistake there. In my entry at 20-Sep-01 - 05:21 PM, I WAS talking about the West Bank, etc. when I said "illegal occupation of Palestine." For some reason, (I was probably distracted) I thought you were asking me how I define "Palestine" in your post at 20-Sep-01 - 10:26 PM, and my answer reflected that misunderstanding. So, I see you were bothered by it, and I'm sorry for causing that. :)

But... I don't think that just because "it has been the dream of Jews for two thousand years to return to Jerusalem" that it was OK for the Zionists to steal huge portions of it from the natives and set up a "Jewish State" there. Why should the dreams of the Jews supersede those of the Palestinians? Just because some Middle-Eastern fable tells them they're God's Chosen People? Modern states shouldn't be built on folk-tales and legends, no matter how charming or influential they might be.

Of course, Jews should have every right to immigrate to Israel/Palestine, to live there in peace, and to worship freely. But, I think, there should not be a Jewish State, a Muslim State, or a Christian State in a place as diverse as Palestine.

And... Sourdough. No, there is no "Semitic Race." There's no Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongolioid, etc. races, either. Race, in that sense, is an outdated, discredited concept (though still a popular one). Semites can be what we'd call white, black, and everything in between. But genetically (and linguistically, of course), the Jews are still closely linked to the other Semitic peoples.

Oh, and the kingdom in in what is now Russis that converted to Judaism was the Turkic kingdom of Khazaria. VERY cool subject, if you're interested. :)

---Lepus Rex