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Happy's avatar

This is a recurring theme that comes up every taanis. Secularist jews are confused about what there is to mourn when there is a thriving secular state. So they make up new, cynical reasons. But Torah observant Jews don't need to make up new reasons. The Rambam says יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענים בהם מפני הצרות שאירעו בהן כדי לעורר הלבבות לפתוח דרכי התשובה ויהיה זה זכרון למעשינו הרעים ומעשה אבותינו שהיה כמעשינו עתה עד שגרם להם ולנו אותן הצרות. שבזכרון דברים אלו נשוב להיטיב שנאמר והתודו את עונם ואת עון אבותם וגו': The reasons why we were exiled still exist and haunt us to this day.

And of course, because of our continued sins, the exile is not at all over, there is no Mashiach, there is no Bais Hamikdash, there is no Sanhedrin, most of the promises of the Neviim have not been fulfilled, and Israel is still not at peace and is under constant, serious threat from its neighbors, with no end in sight. So despite the fact we may be materially comfortable at this very instant (as was the case many times throughout our exile), we still have good reason to mourn.

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Ari Bet Shemesh's avatar

Jews living continuously in the land of Israel for thousands of years is backed up by a wealth of archeological findings. Its documented in the Book of the Maccabees and in Josephus' book The Jew War (against the Romans).

Its also a documented fact that since the 1500s Jewish communities existed throughout Israel especially in Tzefat, Tveria, Hevron and Jerusalem.

Prior to the 1900s the entire region was part of the Ottoman Empire or Arabia with very few independent states. After the fall of the Ottoman empire Britain and France divided the region into different states giving 99% to the Arabs and only Palestine to the Jews (actually it was the entire Trans-Jordan that was supposed to go to the Jews). If anything, palestinian arabs should be treated as greedy and selfish. Just imagine for a second if it was the other way around and the entire region except for 1% was given to Jews and yet the Jews still fought to have that remaining 1%. The world would hate the greedy Jews and do whatever it could to fight for the palestinian arab right to just 1%.

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