For perspective see this map of various empires in the Middle East: http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/imperial-history.html Jews didn't return to their ancestral lands, as those "returning weren't Semitic Jews. They were mostly European converts to Judaism. For argumen't sake, let us assume that all WERE Semitic Jewish descendants though. About seventy years after Roman troops annihilated and dispersed Jews from Jerusalem in 70 AD, another rebellion on the other end of the Roman Empire took place. This time Roman soldiers annihilated and dispersed Welsh rebels. Does this fact now give modern Welsh people license to gather from all over the world, assemble an army and purge Wales of all but Welsh people who now live there? Palestine did indeed exist, and it is ancient: "The Hebrew name Peleshet (פלשת Pəlésheth) – usually translated as Philistia in English, is used in the Bible more than 250 times. The Greek word Palaistinē (Παλαιστίνη, "Palaistine") is generally accepted to be a translation of the Semitic name for Philistia; however another term – land of the Philistieim (γῆ τῶν Φυλιστιεἰμ , transliteration from Hebrew) – was used in the Septuagint, the second century BCE Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, to refer to Philistia.[27] In the Torah / Pentateuch the term Philistia is used 10 times and its boundaries are undefined. The later Historical books (see Deuteronomistic history) include most of the biblical references, almost 200 of which are in the Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel, where the term is used to denote the southern coastal region to the west of the ancient Kingdom of Judah.[12][13][22][28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine and one can find numerous pre-Israeli photos of Palestinian at this site: http://www.palestineremembered.com/OldNewPictures.html More than 500 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed or purged in 1948 to make way for Israel's illicit unilateral declaration of statehood. Three quarters of a million virtually unarmed (by British forces) people were driven away or fled for their lives as marauding Israeli terrorist forces stormed the land. http://www.al-nakba-history.com/origins1948.html The goal of many of Israel's victims isn't to destroy Israeli people, but to destroy the racist Zionist Project. There is a huge difference. View Comment

Greywolfe, you would also challenge the scholarship of Jewish historian Ilan Pappe who has extensively documented Israel's ruthless and ongoing purging of Palestine in his book: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=4715 ...or the fact that Israel is indeed an illegitimate entity, as described in the following article by close friend of Golda Meir, Alan Hart. Excerpt: Zionism’s assertion that Israel was given its birth certificate and thus legitimacy by the UN General Assembly partition resolution of 29 November 1947 is pure propaganda nonsense, as demonstrated by an honest examination of the record of what actually happened. In the first place the UN without the consent of the majority of the people of Palestine did not have the right to decide to partition Palestine or assign any part of its territory to a minority of alien immigrants in order for them to establish a state of their own. Despite that, by the narrowest of margins, and only after a rigged vote, the UN General Assembly did pass a resolution to partition Palestine and create two states, one Arab, one Jewish, with Jerusalem not part of either. But the General Assembly resolution was only a non-binding proposal - meaning that it could have no effect, would not become binding, until and unless it was approved by the Security Council. The truth is that the General Assembly’s partition proposal never went to the Security Council for consideration. Why not? Because the US knew that, if approved, and because of Arab and other Muslim opposition, it could only be implemented by force; and President Truman was not prepared to use force to partition Palestine. So the partition plan was vitiated (became invalid) and the question of what the hell to do about Palestine - after Britain had made a mess of it and walked away - was taken back to the General Assembly for more discussion. The option favoured and proposed by the US was temporary UN Trusteeship. It was while the General Assembly was debating what do that Israel unilaterally declared itself to be in existence - actually in defiance of the will of the organised international community, including the Truman administration. The truth of the time was that Israel, which came into being mainly as a consequence of Zionist terrorism and pre-planned ethnic cleansing, had no right to exist and, more to the point, could have no right to exist unless ….. Unless it was recognised and legitimized by those who were dispossessed of their land and their rights during the creation of the Zionist state. In international law only the Palestinians could give Israel the legitimacy it craved. http://www.countercurrents.org/hart050410.htm The fact remains, despite your attempts to invalidate claims that Israel purged Palestine and is continuing to purge Palestine and illegally acquire ever more stolen land, that Israel is a violent racist apartheid non-democratic entity that no one of good conscience should support. View Comment

"Castelli said. "However, the subliminal message that this particular billboard carries is an anti-Israeli message that I believe has just the opposite effect of creating peace and harmony between the Israeli and Palestinian people." " Sorry Mr. Castelli; The only anti-Israeli message expressed by the billboard is truth. There is no peace and harmony in this totally asymmetric Conflict because Israel, a huge aggressive militaristic state supported by an estimated three trillion US tax dollars, has for more than 60 years continued illegally ethnically cleansing the rightful owners of their lands by murdering anyone who objects and stands in their way. The maps are accurate, but fail to address all of the other injustices and wars started by Israel against its neighbors, which would be good material for far more graphic and telling billboard ads. This, for example: http://ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=19042 or what could be depicted by this: In the past 10 years Israeli forces have killed at least 255 Palestinian minors by fire to the head, and the number may actually be greater, since in many instances the specific bodily location of the lethal trauma is unlisted. In addition, this statistic does not include the many more Palestinian youngsters shot in the head by Israeli soldiers who survived, in one form or another. Below is a small sampling of those who died: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/giffords.html This is a year-old story. Since then there have been several more children shot through their heads by Israeli soldiers, and many others murdered by shots to their bodies, as Israel continues starving them and denying many of them to travel even to seek medical help. That these benign billboards are the subject of controversy is evidence of information control that exists in the US regarding matters of Israel, control that matches Israeli control of US Congress: http://www.alanhart.net/the-best-congress-aipac-can-buy/ It's time that the ugly truths about Israel be told, as continuing US wars for Israel are costing the US far too much in blood and treasure: http://america-hijacked.com/2012/02/12/israel-lobby-pushes-for-us-action-against-the-syrian-government/ View Comment

Zionist (not necessarily Jewish) propagandists have so successfully conflated Judaism with Zionism (a POLITICAL entity) and Israel, the racist "Jewish" state that any legitimate criticism against Israel, including against Israel's illegal expansion onto other people's lands, is deemed, by many of us, to be antiSemitism. The narrative goes like this: "How dare you criticize Israel for its war crimes and crimes against humanity! How dare you challenge its violations of more than 100 UN Resolutions as it continues to expand its yet-undeclared borders by murdering and imprisoning thousands of innocent people who get in the way!!! Haven't the Jews suffered enough! What is WRONG with you! Have you no sympathy for the Holocaust victims?!" As illogical as this argument and chastisement is, it is quite common in America where we generally don't know the history of the Conflict in the Middle East. Lee Whitnam and others who appear from time to time on the political stage DO know about the ongoing belligerence of Israel, and they know that Israel has near complete control of our Body Politic, via it's lobbies and agents in US Congress who put the wants of Israel first, at great cost to the United States. Lee Whitnum and other political candidates who dare to reveal uncomfortable truths about Israel and Zionism are routinely attacked in an effort to silence them, and their attackers know that a lazy public would rather pile on to stifle truth than to bother educating themselves. For more information on Israel that those who deny champions of justice like Lee Whitnum their say, please see: http://ifamericansknew.org/stats/stauffer.html http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/mapstellstory.html http://www.ifamericansknew.org/ http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/ David Evans Former Sergeant, USMC Member, Veterans For Peace Israel/Palestine Working Group View Comment

MS Whitnums suit was evidently tossed by the judge for political reasons, as Gov Malloy certainly DID slander Ms Whitnum by falsely labeling her comments anti-Semitic in nature. Anti-Semitism (a misnomer when applied in this context, as Arabs, including native Jewish Arabs in the Levant are Semite People, and most of the Zionist Jews in Israel aren't. The immigrants are generally Ashkenazi Jews, most recently, Kazars from Central Asia. These people who now control Israel have no familial connection to the land, as they are not Semites. So when they abuse native peoples of Israel/Palestine as they do by murdering them and illegally encroaching onto their lands, it is they, the Israeli Jews, who are acting in a manner that is anti-Semitic Semantics aside, Gov Mallow slandered Ms. Whitnum. Nothing she said could be construed as anti-Jewish. Anti-Zionist, yes; But not anti-Jewish. There is a big difference. Are these good Jewish people anti-Semites also? http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/about/mission.cfm Excerpt from their mission statement: "We seek to disassociate Jews and traditional Judaism from the Zionist Ideology by: Providing historical and supporting documentation that Zionism is totally contrary to the teachings of traditional Judaism through the words of our Rabbis, Sages, and Holy Scriptures which oppose the creation of a state called Israel. Providing historical documentation on the ideaology and creation of Zionism, the supporters of Zionism and the negative impact of their actions on the Jewish people in the past hundred years, including their involvement in the holocaust up to the present day. Publicizing the efforts of traditional Jews to demonstrate that all Jews do not support Zionism, which is being ignored by the mainstream media. Convince the news media, politicians and the public to cease referring to the state of Israel as the "Jewish State" but to call it what it is: the "Zionist State". It is our firm belief that when the state of "Israel" is recognized for what it is, a Zionist state which is not guided by the teachings of the traditional Jewish faith, Jews worldwide will be able to live in peace." Lee Whitnum knows what these Jewish champions of justice know also. Gov. Malloy at the very least owes her an apology for falsely maligning her. View Comment