All of its neighbors hate Israel and want it eradicated. That's a hard situation to live in and normalize. I can understand the kind of mentality that would build up over time.

Precisely what I was thinking.   While I don't actively practice my Judaism, I was brought up Jewish, and I have trouble reconciling what I was taught with the violence I see Israel perpetuating.   Then I remember that a fair portion of the Middle East has hated it and wanted to wipe it off the map more or less since its founding, and it starts to make more sense. Not that it's a good thing, but I think it's a mentality that is a little hard for us to understand.