israel 3

[ursula rose]

does this mean that the hostility between the 2 countries has something of a 'family' flavour about it?

[geofbob]

Sorry, ursula rose, but I'm not sure it matters much whether or not the peoples of Israel and Iraq are related. The hostility between those two countries is not the central issue in the Middle East - the main problem, which has existed since the birth of Israel 50 years ago, is the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. If (and it's a big if) a settlement could be found to that conflict, most of the Arab countries - including Iraq - would probably come to terms with Israel, as Jordan and Egypt already have. In any case, even if some or all of the original Jews came from the area we now call Iraq, the majority of the inhabitants of present-day Israel bear little relationship to those of Iraq.

[ChrisPBacon]

Jews and Arabs are both descended from Abraham. Jews from his union with Sarah his wife and Arabs from his union with Hagar his servant (according to The Bible)