WTP, I think you are making some good points while also overstating some facts. Israel was digging graves in Israeli parks? Where’d you hear that? Also, Iraq fired dozens of scuds into Saudi Arabia that went nowhere before they got that one hit (like in Israel.) Where’d you read that Rommel occupying Palestine was expected as a forgone conclusion by the British? If your going to compare violent death rates you also need to count Israeli military causalities since ’48. Why are you only using one specific year?
Really what I think people find objectionable is the secular claim that the State is created to be a safehaven for Jews everywhere to escape to in time of crisis. What many of the posters here are pointing out is that this claim could be at least just as easily made by America, Canada or Australia. And that there’s no way to predict whether the next golus threat to Jews will occur on Israel or in America.
As far as concentration, prewar European Jews were spread out over the continent. The State, otoh, is geographically much smaller.