While many Jews in the US came here from Europe and might pass for whites, most Israelis have resided for centuries in the Middle East and North Africa (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oriental-Jews ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Jews ). Average Israelis look very much like their Palestinian neighbors. In fact, as popularized by the Netflix TV show “Fauda”, not even the most astute intelligence officers on either side can tell the difference between Palestinians and Israelis. Therefore, introducing arguments of race and color into this debate is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of the conflict.