It's not that the UN gave it to them. The UK had moved in and claimed the whole thing as a colony, which wasn't very popular with anyone. They promised both sides that they'd hand over control to them. That didn't work out so well, either. There was much chaos and confusion and messiness and even this is a real simplification. But, in the end, Israel managed to set up a working democratic government and then defend themselves from large-scale invasion. At some point along the way, the UN acknowledged that they were actually a country.

As for the Pallestinians... I recognize that they, too have a good claim on the same small strip of land. It's a tough issue. And sharing doesn't seem to be work too well as a solution.

I have sympathy for their plight. But I have to lay at least some of the blame for that on their own government, or lack thereof. They have leaders, but those leaders don't seem to do much for them. They take large amounts of international aid, then pocket most of that for themselves, leaving their people to live in squalor. And they refuse to do anything to even try to stop the terrorist groups that have taken root within their borders. Rather, they tend to have ties (perhaps out of necessity) to those exact groups.

So... yeah. The Palestinians are poor. And poorly educated. And not well cared for. And have to deal with Israeli suspicion and security checks. (The walls and checkpoints are a very recent development, BTW. A response to terrorists winning the Palestinian elections, IIRC.) I wish they had better. But if they had a stronger, better, less corrupt government, they wouldn't have to deal with a lot of that. And if they had a real education instead of terrorist propaganda...

If you want to talk about self-defense... most of what Israel does is out of self-defense. And, up until recently (when the populace finally got fed up with it and voted in a more hawkish government), it was remarkably restrained self-defense. And if you want to talk about missiles and bombings, what about the bombings of Israeli lands? Shells, mortars, missiles. Destroying homes, blasting farms, killing city people by the busload, putting snipers on the roofs near the holiest sites...

There are two sides to the story, Ann. You're talking as if Israel is doing all the bad stuff to the poor oppressed Palestinians. And it's just not the case. I feel bad for them. I recognize that they got a raw deal. And that they have some valid claims. But the Israelis have valid claims and raw deals and dead children, too. And it seems like sometimes they get a lot less sympathy and understanding for it.

When in doubt, think about penguins. It probably won't help, but at least it'll be fun.