[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

You say Jewish. I say Israeli. And therein lies the problem.

And no, I'm not even figuratively 12 years old.

I said Jewish knowingly and specifically because I'm well aware that therein lies the problem - a Catch 22 problem that existed long before this conflict. Criticism of the Israeli government and policy is seen as (or disingenuously accused of being) antisemitic criticism of or dislike of Jewish people in general, when it is nothing of the sort. Viewing any world government as being emblematic of a group in any arbitrary way (so whether you're defining "Jewish" as a religious belief system or an ethnicity) and thus dismissing any criticism of that political power as xenophobic, is a HUGE problem.

I certainly don't conflate Israel and Judaism, but it's always been a standard thing to do.

FWIW I imagine the political elite of Israel are entirely godless and using it simply as a carrot & stick in the same way that the political elite has since the dawn of civilisation.