The Israeli state was created in 1948 by foreign nationals whose ancestors (in some cases) are believed to have resided in the land of Palestine. These descendants returned to the region with the intention of taking the territory from the indigenous people and expelling them in the process. In most instances the Zionist migrant families had no presence in Palestine for as long as 2000 years, yet claimed it as their God-given birth-right. The indigenous population, who were ethnically cleansed, had lived there continually for up to 2000 years.

Imagine if we were to change the setting from Palestine to Ulster. Settlers from the Scottish lowlands arrived in Ulster during the Plantation of the 1600s, and proceeded to ethnically cleanse the native people. If those settlers/planters decided that they wished to return to the land from whence their ancestors came 400 years ago, what would the reaction be from the…