Lisoosh: I haven't assumed anything about you that you haven't told me yourself. First - I don't see how my arguments are null and void simply because you have lived in Israel (or Europe). I live in the United States. The fact that I live here does not make your opinions about our democratic foundations and immigration laws meaningless next to mine. "The question of the Jewish State and democracy goes far beyond Israeli/Arab relations." Obviously. And you are very passionate about it. I admire that. But my concern is with Vibel's repeated rejection of Jewish self-rule and criticisms of Israeli democracy. And I still don't see how a basic rejection of jewish self-rule is conducive a peaceful solution to this conflict with mutual understading and acceptance of "the other". And that's how this little back and forth started. Again, my tone was sharp, and I sincerely apologize to Bad for that. It was immature to attack him like that. But my stance is still the same. This is a great blog, and it's truly wonderful that Lisa is dedicated to building bridges here. She remains eternally optimistic. It's fantastic that Vibel and other Arabs and lebanese engage in conversation. But from a practical point of view, rejection of jewish self-rule by one side - in the end - is not a genuine acceptance of Israel's right to exist in peace as a jewish state. It's a conversation stopper. And cross cultural Arab - Israeli dialogues are too often about Israel's supporters having to justify the legitimacy of Zionism. It's time to move beyond that to real acceptance. And while it's true that aspects of Israel's immigration laws are unique, the immigration laws themselves are not completely unique as you are claiming. Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Greece, and France are just some of the countries that make it easier for certain people to become citizens based on their ethnic origins. Germany has a law of return, and all of the Balkan and Baltic countries have laws of return as well. So, I really stand by what I said to Vibel, minus the tone of my response - and all that I've said to you. "And lets not forget the other issue of democracy in a Jewish State and the basic question of "who is a Jew?". Who gets the power over the faith? " etc. I'm flattered that I've inspired you to discuss these questions with me, but I simply haven't the time to deal with the list of what-ifs you've presented. Perhaps you can start a blog that deals explicitely with those issues, and I'll read it.