The key to analyzing criticism of Israel is the motivation of the critic. If the objective of one’s criticism of Israeli government policies is to help strengthen the country against the many other countries and peoples who wish to see Israel destroyed, such criticism can be valid, whether ultimately correct or incorrect.

But if critics believe Israel is an illegitimate occupier of someone else’s land, then that criticism is anything but constructive and is often based in a hatred of Jews.

As to whether Jews can criticize Israel and remain faithful Jews, I’ll let my Jewish friends answer that question. Some Jews do not regard modern Israel as descended from the unique theocracy God established in the Hebrew Scriptures. Others, along with “Christian Zionists,” believe the re-establishment of modern Israel in her ancient homeland is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Historically, Jews have always been linked to a land called Israel, or Palestine. For nearly 2,000 years before the modern state’s creation by the U.N. in 1948, Jews were still a nation, though they did not have a state. They remained loyal to their faith, their heritage and to the belief that Israel would “rise again.” Not many would claim that Jews do not have the right to criticize the policies of modern Israel without having their loyalty questioned. After all, it is that land that was created in order that a Holocaust might never happen again. If only…