Ron,

I agree with you that secular Jews might find my way of saying it as an unjustified simplification.

But on purely secular grounds, I bet that you agree with me that Jews' desire to have an independent country is justified, and it should be roughly where it is now. The devil is in the details, which was the focus of my article. And you agreed with that.

I bet you can bring the secular version supporting the cause of the Jewish state being where it is. But whatever rational arguments one can get, they are rooted in the biblical tradition. Therefore, I found the simplification you question acceptable when writing my article.