In the Old Testament,
God called the Israelites to be his special people.
Not that God didn't care about the rest of the world.
It's just that he needed one people to produce the Messiah

Just like when he chose Mary to be mother of the Messiah.
It wasn't that he didn't care about the rest of the world's women.
It's just that he needed one womb to bear the fruit of Jesus

Why Israel? Why not Iceland or India or Indonesia or Italy?
Maybe a map of the world holds the key.
Israel is at the junction of three continents
...only God's power could guarantee its existence sandwiched between great powers
...and from it the Good News could spread to three continents

The reason for the existence of Israel is worth much reflection.
In our days with the "Middle East" situation always in the news
more and more preachers/books/programs (...not Catholic, usually...)
are bombarding (no other word) simple people into believing
that the whole of the Holy Land "was given by God to the Jews...in perpetuity...
and therefore anything goes re expelling Palestinians from the area"

If you go into a non-Catholic Christian bookstore,
you will find a string of books on this subject.
It's a topic dear to fundamentalist Christians

A complicated topic, with many historical complexities,
but one which influences the peace of the world,
since perceived/real mistreatment of Palestinians
is one of the main causes of terrorism in our world

Jesus, may our reflections on this chapter of "Lumen Gentium"
give us a deeper understanding of today's Middle East situation
...and please give peace to the peoples of the Middle East