: : Tolkien said in one letter that these races were usually hostile to one another -- but he never substantiated that in his stories. Most of his accounts of Elf-dwarf relations show their friendships and alliances, which sometimes lasted for thousands of years. There was only ever one (documented) war between Elves and Dwarves, and that was a localized event, which one group of Dwarves openly opposed.

:
: Umm.. I am citing The Hobbit:

: "Dwarves don't get on well with them (Elves). Even decent enough dwarves like Thorin and his friends think them foolish..."

: I know that's rather mild and not really a heavy indicator of "emnity" but it seems to imply a definite dislike.

Agreed that you cannot exclude Men from the Children of Iluvatar. But by the same token, you cannot exclude the Elves.