Danish politics is pretty close to what was dramatized in Borgen  (review) (Imdb) a favorite in the Guardian as well... And yes Mick, you and I are very different ;-) Surprises me you haven't realized that before :-)

As for Israel I find it totally logical - As a collective the jews have historically been persecuted for ages (since the first diaspora, where they were kicked out of the middle-east), they are hard-working, clever, business-savy and able to fit in in most democratic countries/cultures. When their power eventually becomes obvious, this leads to accusations of greed and breads resentment. Personally I find their religion just as abhorrent as I find all other religions, but there is no denying their success in pretty much whatever they do.
When they came back to the middle-east after WWII, they repeatedly defended themselves successfully from the attacks of the surrounding nations, who obviously felt humiliated.