One only has to remember Prime Minister Menachem Begin's categorical refusal to relinquish the Sinai desert and remember how and why it was conquered in the first place some 11 years earlier. In other words, yesterday's struggle and right to exist as a nation state have turned into the right to expand its real estate holdings. After 50 years of existence the state of Israel, as recognised by the world community and established by the United Nations, has moved dangerously close to the German concept of Lebensraum. Although philosophically and geopolitically this concept is identified precisely with a certain Germanic quest for land and dominance, Israel is in danger of being misunderstood in its intentions. Self-defence is not necessarily a justification for murder, certainly not in different legal systems created by man.
Race is based on the notion of exclusivity.
Us and them. Buttressed by religious sanctions, it becomes a powerful tool in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. It also makes a mockery of international conventions that were so difficult to arrive at and took centuries to evolve. Fifty years after the state was created, and having signed a myriad of international conventions, Israel stands accused of violating many agreements under the pretext of self-defence or national security. The nation has convinced itself of its uniqueness.