mrgrieves, one of the reasons why Israel is the only post-colonial Arab country that is a democracy is because the colonial powers (generally Britain) engineered it so. (And yes, Israel was an Arab country - in 1914 less than 8% of the population was Jewish).

Israel itself provided both an easy stick for the rulers of Arab countries, as well as a great proof that democracies can be as ruthless, violent, racist and religiously biased as any other form of government. It refuses to allow the Palestinians that used to live in its "territory" to return - on what grounds, exactly? It builds wall around the Palestinian homelands, which it regularly bombs and invades. It has long claimed the right to torture and collectively punish. In short, it has consistenly proven that it is the worst example of a western-style democracy.

Are Italian Jews really worse of than Israeli Arabs? Or for that matter, Israeli Jews? Since the Italian Jews aren't moving to Israel, they seem to think they are not.

Why would a Palestine with both Jews and Arabs present as equals be less prosperous and modern than an Israel that has to spend an extraordinary amount of GDP on policing and military, even if much of that expense (and more) is provided by the US and Europe? If the US and Europe finance a single-state secular democracy successor state, it should be able to prosper more than Israel ever could.