Apologies for the double-quoting, Nathan's original mail hasn't found its way to my inbox yet.
I think that surely we need to look then at why the percieved need for a Jewish homeland. As far as I understand it, the Zionist theory was only really given impetus by the rampant anti-Jewish sentiment (to put it mildly) throughout much of Europe at the time, and the inability or disinterest of the authorities to tackle the issue. It was doubly useful to have a friendly armed state in the middle of the oil lands as well.
Herzl also considered other locations for the new homeland, so it wasn't purely historical motivation that landed the Israelis on the backs of the Palestinians either.
As for the term "anti-semetic", I really think you need to tread carefully with your use of that expression. I doubt that my explanation of why it is not appropriately used in this context would be a useful contribution to this argument, so I'll leave that part out, but the term itself has become a catch-all for anyone who criticises *any* part of the Israeli state or its history.
Cheers
Zak
-- Money capers: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/14017.html