>The Israeli / Palestinian conflict merely provides a convenient focus for the hatred that has always existed in the region .

> The Middle East is a bad place to live. The conscious decision to create a state there was very unwise.

Since you acknowledge the place would be a violent mess regardless of Israel, then you must be saying the creation of Israel has simply added fuel to the fire. But the fire would still be raging regardless, so it's not correct to focus on the creation of Israel as the main problem.

I think it's an issue of personal support, such as (besides geopolitical and economic advantages) the importance of Israel to Jews and many Christians - which sort of overwhelms the pragmatic considerations. Otoh the global effects of the Israel/Palestinian conflict do affect everyone, whether they like it or not, so you've made a fair point from a pragmatic perspective.