Also, it’s clear that jews and arabs were far from friends. We lived under islamic law, which allows jews and lehavdil christians to live peacefully under arab government provided they pay taxes and do not missionize. There were waves of islamic extremism under certain caliphates, but compared to living under christian countries where we were expelled, robbed, killed and humiliated all the time, it was much more liveable.
Zionism flipped that on its head.