>I'm not clear on whether people who object to the existence of Israel are doing so on the basis of the particular spot that was chosen

Neither. It is how it was formed. Jews have been in that region for some time. Right along with quite a few other religions mind you. European Jews, persecuted and with no place to go, were secretly funneled to the area in large numbers. Feeling empowered with lots of people and influx of "sorry" money they formed a Jewish government. This new government divided the people in the region (prior known as Palestine by most of the world) by their religion and called the place "Israel". This is loosely based off the Israel mentioned in the bible minus the fact that, unlike the bible fantasy, it doesn't reach to the border between Iran and Iraq. So this new government pushed the other half (now called the Palestinians), made up mostly of Christians and muslims, back as to acquire good space for the new settlers. Many people were forced in to refugee camps in neighboring countries. This action pissed off Israel's neighbors, and most of the people in the region, especially due to the obvious singling out of muslims. Lots of fighting. Lots of hate. Any other questions?