Speaking as an American Jew - though without the presumption to speak for American Jewry - it is my strong impression that most American Jews feel no great urge to emigrate to their "ancient homeland"; certainly no more so than to the ghettos and shtetls of their grandparents' Old Country. That was the point in Tom's post to which I responded in agreement, speaking about my contemporaries. I venture to guess that the Jews of modern Europe are of like mind - that is, the country in which they were born is their homeland.

As almost all American and European Jews are Ashkenazim (see the footnote in my previous post), the concept of "homeland" becomes even more rarified. From the standpoint of ancestral territory, their homeland is the steppes of central Asia, not the Levant.

You may notice also (in my second "on the other hand") that I agreed with you about the Palestinians' ties to the land they were born on.

Christians very well could claim (and many still do) as strong a spiritual connection to the same piece of ground as do the Jews of the Diaspora and the. A few times during the Middle Ages, they attempted to stake that claim in the secular world by invasion - and ultimately failed, every time. The Zionist movement, upon which the present State of Israel is founded, chose to make the attempt in a peaceful manner - nevertheless, from the standpoint of the Palestinians, Jews and Muslims alike, it was also an invasion in precisely the same way as the European settlement of the Americas was. More importantly: historical Zionism, though it may represent the sentiments of many Jews worldwide, represents the actions of very few. The majority chose instead to "abstain with their feet". That is: they stay home.

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