Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The Land of Israel - Promised Land - Greater Israel - Geography of Israel


 The Land of Israel 


The Land of Israel (Hebrew:אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ʼÉreṣ Yiśrāʼēl, Eretz Yisrael) is one of several names for an area of indefinite geographical extension in the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (q.v. Israel (disambiguation)). The definitions of the limits of this territory vary between passages in the Hebrew Bible, with specific mentions in Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47. Nine times elsewhere in the Bible, the settled land is referred as "from Dan to Beersheba, and three times it is referred as "from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt” (1 Kings 8:65, 1 Chronicles 13:5 and 2 Chronicles 7:8).".
These biblical limits for the land differ from the borders of established historical Israelite and later Jewish kingdoms; over time these have included the United Kingdom of Israel, the two separated kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah, the Hasmonean Kingdom, and the Herodian Kingdom, which at their heights ruled lands with similar but not identical boundaries.
The Jewish religious belief that the area is a God-given inheritance of the Jewish people is based on the Torah, particularly in the books of Genesis and Exodus, as well as in the later Prophets.[1] According to the Book of Genesis, the land was first promised by God to the descendants of Abram; the text is explicit that this is a covenant between God and Abram for his descendants.[2] Abram's name was later changed to Abraham, with the promise refined to pass through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. This belief is not shared by most adherents of replacement theology (or supersessionism), who hold the view that the Old Testament prophecies were superseded by the coming of Jesus,[3]a view often repudiated by Christian Zionists as a theological error.[4] Evangelical Zionists variously claim that Israel has title to the land by divine right,[5] or by a theological, historical and moral grounding of attachment to the land unique to Judaism (James Parkes),[6] The idea that ancient religious texts can be warrant or divine right for a modern claim has often been challenged,[7] [8] and Israeli courts have rejected land claims based on religious motivations.[9]
During the mandatory period (1920-1948) the term "Eretz Yisrael" or the "Land of Israel" was part of the official Hebrew name of Mandatory Palestine. Official Hebrew documents used the Hebrew transliteration of the word “Palestine” פלשתינה (Palestina) followed always by the two initial letters of "Eretz Yisrael", א״י Aleph-Yod.[10] [11]
The Land of Israel concept has been evoked by the founders of the State of Israel. It often surfaces in political debates on the status of the West Bank, which is referred to in official Israeli discourse as Judea and Samaria, from the names of the two historical Jewish kingdoms.[12]
Etymology and biblical roots
1916 map of the Fertile Crescent byJames Henry Breasted. The names used for the land are "Canaan" "Judah" "Palestine" and "Israel"
Map of Eretz Israel in 1695 AmsterdamHaggada by Abraham Bar-Jacob.
The term "Land of Israel" is a direct translation of the Hebrew phrase ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisrael), which occurs occasionally in the Bible,[13] and is first mentioned in the Tanakh at 1 Samuel 13:19, following the Exodus when the Israelite tribes were already in the Land of Canaan.[14] The words are used sparsely in the Bible: King David is ordered to gather 'strangers to the land of Israel'(hag-gêrîm ’ăšer, bə’ereṣ yiśrā’êl) for building purposes (1 Chronicles 22:2), and the same phrasing is used in reference to King Solomon's census of all of the 'strangers in the Land of Israel' (11 Chronicles 2:17). Ezekiel, though generally preferring the phrase 'soil of Israel' (’admat yiśrā’êl), employs eretz israel twice, respectively at Ezechiel 40:2 and Ezechiel 47:18.[15]
According to Martin Noth, the term is not an "authentic and original name for this land", but instead serves as "a somewhat flexible description of the area which the Israelite tribes had their settlements".[16] According to Anita Shapira, the term "Eretz Yisrael" was a holy term, vague as far as the exact boundaries of the territories are concerned but clearly defining ownership.[17] The sanctity of the land (kedushat ha-aretz) developed rich associations in rabbinical thought,[18] where it assumes a highly symbolic and mythological status infused with promise, though always connected to a geographical location.[19] Nur Masalhaargues that the biblical boundaries are "entirely fictitious", and bore simply religious connotations in Diaspora Judaism, with the term only coming into ascendency with the rise of Zionism.[13]
The Hebrew Bible provides three specific sets of borders for the "Promised Land", each with a different purpose. Neither of the terms "Promised Land" (Ha'Aretz HaMuvtahat) or "Land of Israel" are used in these passages: Genesis 15:13–21,Genesis 17:8[20] and Ezekiel 47:13–20 use the term "the land" (ha'aretz), as doesDeuteronomy 1:8 in which it is promised explicitly to "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... and to their descendants after them," whilst Numbers 34:1–15 describes the "Land of Canaan" (Eretz Kna'an) which is allocated to nine and half of the twelve Israelite tribes after the Exodus. The expression "Land of Israel" is first used in a later book,1 Samuel 13:19. It is defined in detail in the exilic Book of Ezekiel as a land where both the twelve tribes and the "strangers in (their) midst", can claim inheritance.[21]The name "Israel" first appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name given by God to thepatriarch Jacob (Genesis 32:28). Deriving from the name "Israel", other designations that came to be associated with the Jewish people have included the "Children of Israel" or "Israelite".
The term 'Land of Israel' (γῆ Ἰσραήλ) occurs in one episode in the New Testament(Matthew 2:20–21), where, according to Shlomo Sand, it bears the unusual sense of 'the area surrounding Jerusalem'.[20] The section in which it appears was written as a parallel to the earlier Book of Exodus.[22]
Biblical interpretations of the borders
Genesis 15 (describing "this land")
Num. 34 ("Canaan") & Eze. 47 ("this land")
Interpretations of the borders of thePromised Land, based on scriptural verses
Genesis 15
Genesis 15:18–21 describes what are known as "Borders of the Land" (Gevulot Ha-aretz),[23]which in Jewish tradition defines the extent of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.[24] The passage describes the area as the land of the ten named ancient peoples then living there.
More precise geographical borders are givenExodus 23:31 which describes borders as marked by the Red Sea (see debate below), the "Sea of the Philistines" i.e., the Mediterranean, and the "River", the Euphrates), the traditional furthest extent of the Kingdom of David.[25] [26]
Genesis gives the border with Egypt as Nahar Mitzrayim – nahar in Hebrew denotes a large river, never a wadi.
Exodus 23
A slightly more detailed definition is given inExodus 23:31, which describes the borders as "from the sea of reeds (Red Sea) to the Sea of the Philistines (Mediterranean sea) and from the desert to the Euphrates River", though the Hebrew text of the Bible uses the name, "the River", to refer to the Euphrates.
Only the "Red Sea" (Exodus 23:31) and the Euphrates are mentioned to define the southern and eastern borders of the full land promised to the Israelites. The "Red Sea" corresponding to Hebrew Yam Suf was understood in ancient times to be theErythraean Sea, as reflected in the Septuagint translation. Although the English name "Red Sea" is derived from this name ("Erythraean" derives from the Greek for red), the term denoted all the waters surrounding Arabia—including the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, not merely the sea lying to the west of Arabia bearing this name in modern English. Thus the entire Arabian peninsula lies within the borders described. Modern maps depicting the region take a reticent view and often leave the southern and eastern borders vaguely defined. The borders of the land to be conquered given in Numbers have a precisely defined eastern border which included the Arabah and Jordan.
Numbers 34
Numbers 34:1–15 describes the land allocated to the Israelite tribes after the Exodus. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh received land east of the Jordan as explained in Numbers 34:14–15. Numbers 34:1–13 provides a detailed description of the borders of the land to be conquered west of the Jordan for the remaining tribes. The region is called "the Land of Canaan" (Eretz Kna'an) in Numbers 34:2 and the borders are known in Jewish tradition as the "borders for those coming out of Egypt". These borders are again mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:6–8, 11:24 and Joshua 1:4.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Canaan was the son of Ham who with his descendents had seized the land from the descendents of Shem according to theBook of Jubilees. Jewish tradition thus refers to the region as Canaan during the period between the Flood and the Israelite settlement. Eliezer Schweid sees Canaan as a geographical name, and Israel the spiritual name of the land. He writes: The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is thus "geo-theological" and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments.[27] Thus, the renaming of this landmarks a change in religious status, the origin of the Holy Land concept. Numbers 34:1–13uses the term Canaan strictly for the land west of the Jordan, but Land of Israel is used in Jewish tradition to denote the entire land of the Israelites. The English expression "Promised Land" can denote either the land promised to Abraham in Genesis or the land of Canaan, although the latter meaning is more common.
The border with Egypt is given as the Nachal Mitzrayim (Brook of Egypt) in Numbers, as well as in Deuteronomy and Ezekiel. Jewish tradition (as expressed in the commentaries of Rashi and Yehuda Halevi, as well as the Aramaic Targums) understand this as referring to the Nile; more precisely the Pelusian branch of the Nile Delta according to Halevi—a view supported by Egyptian and Assyrian texts.Saadia Gaon identified it as the "Wadi of El-Arish", referring to the biblical Sukkotnear Faiyum. Kaftor Vaferech placed it in the same region, which approximates the location of the former Pelusian branch of the Nile. 19th century Bible commentaries understood the identification as a reference to the Wadi of the coastal locality calledEl-Arish. Easton's, however, notes a local tradition that the course of the river had changed and there was once a branch of the Nile where today there is a wadi. Biblical minimalists have suggested that the Besor is intended.
Deuteronomy 19
Deuteronomy 19:8 indicates a certain fluidity of the borders of the promised land when it refers to the possibility that God would "enlarge your borders." This expansion of territory means that Israel would receive "all the land he promised to give to your fathers", which implies that the settlement actually fell short of what was promised. According to Jacob Milgrom, Deuteronomy refers to a more utopian map of the promised land, whose eastern border is the wilderness rather than the Jordan.[28]
Paul R. Williamson notes that a "close examination of the relevant promissory texts" supports a "wider interpretation of the promised land" in which it is not "restricted absolutely to one geographical locale." He argues that "the map of the promised land was never seen permanently fixed, but was subject to at least some degree of expansion and redefinition."[29]
Ezekiel 47
Ezekiel 47:13–20 provides a definition of borders of land in which the twelve tribes of Israel will live during the final redemption, at the end of days. The borders of the land described by the text in Ezekiel include the northern border of modernLebanon, eastwards (the way of Hethlon) to Zedad and Hazar-enan in modern Syria; south by southwest to the area of Busra on the Syrian border (area of Hauran in Ezekiel); follows the Jordan River between the West Bank and the land of Gilead to Tamar (Ein Gedi) on the western shore of the Dead Sea; From Tamar to Meribah Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea), then along the Brook of Egypt (see debate below) to the Mediterranean Sea. The territory defined by these borders is divided into twelve strips, one for each of the twelve tribes.
Hence, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 define different but similar borders which include the whole of contemporary Lebanon, both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Israel, except for the South Negev and Eilat. Small parts of Syria are also included.
From Dan to Beersheba
The common biblical phrase used to refer to the territories actually settled by the Israelites (as opposed to military conquests) is "from Dan to Beersheba" (or its variant "from Beersheba to Dan"), which occurs many times in the Bible. It is found in the biblical verses Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Chronicles 21:2, and 2 Chronicles 30:5.
Division of Tribes
The 12 tribes of Israel are divided in 1 Kings 11. In the chapter, King Solomon's sins lead to Israelites forfeiting 10 of the 12 tribes:
30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, andMolek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.
— Kings 1, 11:30-11:36[30]
Jewish beliefs
Rabbinic laws in the Land of Israel
According to Menachem Lorberbaum,
In Rabbinic tradition, the land of Israel consecrated by the returning exiles was significantly different in it(s?) boundaries from both the prescribed biblical borders and the actual borders of the pre-Exilic kingdoms. It ranged roughly from Acre in the north to Ashkelon in the south along the Mediterranean, and included Galilee and the Golan. Yet there was no settlement in Samaria.[31]
According to Jewish religious law (halakha), some laws only apply to Jews living in the Land of Israel and some areas in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria (which are thought to be part of biblical Israel). These include agricultural laws such as the Shmita(Sabbatical year); tithing laws such as the Maaser Rishon (Levite Tithe), Maaser sheni, and Maaser ani (poor tithe); charitable practices during farming, such as pe'ah; and laws regarding taxation. One popular source lists 26 of the 613 mitzvot as contingent upon the Land of Israel.[32]
Many of the religious laws which applied in ancient times are applied in the modern State of Israel; others have not been revived, since the State of Israel does not adhere to traditional Jewish law. However, certain parts of the current territory of the State of Israel, such as the Arabah, are considered by some religious authorities to be outside the Land of Israel for purposes of Jewish law. According to these authorities, the religious laws do not apply there.[33]
According to some Jewish religious authorities, every Jew has an obligation to dwell in the Land of Israel and may not leave except for specifically permitted reasons (e.g., to get married).[34]
There are also many laws dealing with how to treat the land. The laws apply to all Jews, and the giving of the land itself in the covenant, applies to all Jews, including converts.[35]
Inheritance of the promise
Traditional religious Jewish interpretation, and that of most Christian commentators, define Abraham's descendants only as Abraham's seed through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob.[24] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] Johann Friedrich Karl Keil is less clear, as he states that the covenant is through Isaac, but also notes thatIshmael's descendants, generally the Arabs, have held much of that land through time.[46]
Modern Jewish debates on the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel concept has been evoked by the founders of the State of Israel. It often surfaces in political debates on the status of the West Bank, which is referred to in official Israeli discourse as Judea and Samaria, from the names of the twohistorical Israelite and Judean kingdoms.[12] These debates frequently invoke religious principles, despite the little weight these principles typically carry in Israeli secular politics.
Ideas about the need for Jewish control of the land of Israel have been propounded by figures such as Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg, who has written about the historical entitlement that Jews have to the whole Land of Israel.[47] Ginsburgh's ideas about the need for Jewish control over the land has some popularity within contemporary West Bank settlements.[48] However, there are also strong backlashes from the Jewish community regarding these ideas.[48]
The Satmar Hasidic community in particular denounces any geographic or political establishment of Israel, deeming this establishment has directly interfering with God's plan for Jewish redemption. Joel Teitelbaum was a foremost figure in this denouncement, calling the Land and State of Israel a vehicle for idol worship, as well as a smokescreen for Satan's workings.[49]
Divisions within the Jewish community concerning Israel speak to how Israel not only represents an international point of contention, but also a continuous ideological and internal introspection and negotiation specific to the Jewish community and its larger history.
Christian beliefs
Inheritance of the promise
During the early 5th century, Saint Augustine of Hippo argued in his City of God that the earthly or "carnal" kingdom of Israel achieved its peak during the reigns of David and his son Solomon.[50] He goes on to say however, that this possession was conditional: "...the Hebrew nation should remain in the same land by the succession of posterity in an unshaken state even to the end of this mortal age, if it obeyed the laws of the Lord its God."
He goes on to say that the failure of the Hebrew nation to adhere to this condition resulted in its revocation and the making of a second covenant and cites Jeremiah 31:31–32: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make for the house of Israel, and for the house of Judah, a new testament: not according to the testament that I settled for their fathers in the day when I laid hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my testament, and I regarded them not, says the Lord."
Augustine concludes that this other promise, revealed in the New Testament, was about to be fulfilled through the incarnation of Christ: "I will give my laws in their mind, and will write them upon their hearts, and I will see to them; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people". Notwithstanding this doctrine stated by Augustine and also by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Ch. 11), the phenomenon of Christian Zionism is widely noted today, especially among evangelical Protestants. Other Protestant groups and churches reject Christian Zionism on various grounds.
Modern history
Jewish religious tradition does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities.[51] Nonetheless, during two millennia of exile and with a continuous yet small Jewish presence in the land, a strong sense of bondedness exists throughout this tradition, expressed in terms of people-hood; from the very beginning, this concept was identified with that ancestral biblical land or, to use the traditional religious and modern Hebrew term, Eretz Yisrael. Religiously and culturally the area was seen broadly as a land of destiny, and always with hope for some form of redemption and return. It was later seen as a national home and refuge, intimately related to that traditional sense of people-hood, and meant to show continuity that this land was always seen as central to Jewish life, in theory if not in practice.[52]
Early Zionism
Having already used another religious term of great importance, Zion (Jerusalem), to coin the name of their movement, being associated with the return to Zion [53] the term was considered appropriate for the secular Jewish political movement ofZionism to adopt at the turn of the 20th century; it was used to refer to their proposed national homeland in the area then controlled by the Ottoman Empire and generally known as the Holy Land or Palestine.[54] Different geographic and political definitions for the "Land of Israel" later developed among competing Zionist ideologies during their nationalist struggle. These differences relate to the importance of the idea and its land, as well as the internationally recognized borders of the State of Israel and the Jewish State's secure and democratic existence. Many current governments, politicians and commentators question these differences.
When Israel was founded in 1948, the majority Labor leadership, which governed for three decades after independence, accepted the partition of the previous British Mandate of Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states as a pragmatic solution to the political and demographic issues of the territory, with the description Land of Israel applying to the territory of the State of Israel within the Green Line. The then opposition revisionists, who evolved into today's Likud party, however, regarded the rightful Land of Israel as Eretz Yisrael Ha-Shlema (literally, the whole Land of Israel), which came to be referred to as Greater Israel.[55] Joel Greenberg, writing in The New York Times relates subsequent events this way:[55]
The seed was sown in 1977, when Menachem Begin of Likud brought his party to power for the first time in a stunning election victory over Labor. A decade before, in the 1967 war, Israeli troops had in effect undone the partition accepted in 1948 by overrunning the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ever since, Mr. Begin had preached undying loyalty to what he called Judea and Samaria (the West Bank lands) and promoted Jewish settlement there. But he did not annex the West Bank and Gaza to Israel after he took office, reflecting a recognition that absorbing the Palestinians could turn Israel it into a binational state instead of a Jewish one.
Following the Six Day War in 1967, the 1977 elections and the Oslo Accords, the term Eretz Israel became increasingly associated with right-wing expansionist groups who sought to conform the borders of the State of Israel with the biblical Eretz Yisrael.[56]
British Mandate
The British Mandate for Palestinecovered Palestine 1923–1948 and Transjordan 1923–1946.[57]
Three proposals for the post World War I administration of Palestine. The red line is the "International Administration" proposed in the 1916Sykes–Picot Agreement, the dashed blue line is the 1919 Zionist Organization proposal at the Paris Peace Conference, and the thin blue line refers to the final borders of the 1923–48 Mandatory Palestine.
This 1920 stamp, issued by theEgyptian Expeditionary Force, set a precedent for the wording ofsubsequent Mandate stamps.
The Biblical concept of Eretz Israel, and its re-establishment as a state in the modern era, was a basic tenet of the original Zionist program. This program however, saw little success until the British acceptance of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Chaim Weizmann, as leader of the Zionist delegation, at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference presented a Zionist Statement on 3 February. Among other things, he presented a plan for development together with a map of the proposed homeland. The statement noted the Jewish historical connection with "Palestine".[58] It also declared the Zionists' proposed borders and resources "essential for the necessary economic foundation of the country" including "the control of its rivers and their headwaters". These borders included present day Israel and the occupied territories, western Jordan, southwestern Syria and southern Lebanon "in the vicinity south of Sidon".[59] The subsequent British occupation and British acceptance of the July 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine,[60] advanced the Zionist cause.
Early in the deliberations toward British civilian administration, two fundamental decisions were taken, which bear upon the status of the Jews as a nation; the first was the recognition of Hebrew as an official language, along with English and Arabic, and the second concerned the Hebrew name of the country.
In 1920, the Jewish members of the first High Commissioner's advisory council objected to the Hebrew transliteration of the word “Palestine” פלשתינה (Palestina) on the ground that the traditional name was ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisrael), but the Arab members would not agree to this designation, which in their view, had political significance. The High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, himself a Zionist, decided that the Hebrew transliteration should be used, followed always by the two initial letters of "Eretz Yisrael,” א״י Aleph-Yod:[61]
He was aware that there was no other name in the Hebrew language for this land except 'Eretz-Israel'. At the same time he thought that if 'Eretz-Israel' only were used, it might not be regarded by the outside world as a correct rendering of the word 'Palestine', and in the case of passports or certificates of nationality, it might perhaps give rise to passports or certificates of nationality, it might perhaps give rise to difficulties, so it was decided to print 'Palestine' in Hebrew letters and to add after it the letters 'Aleph' 'Yod', which constitute a recognised abbreviation of the Hebrew name. His Excellency still thought that this was a good compromise. Dr. Salem wanted to omit 'Aleph' 'Yod' and Mr. Yellin wanted to omit 'Palestine'. The right solution would be to retain both."—Minutes of the meeting on November 9, 1920.[62]
The compromise was later noted as among Arab grievances before the League's Permanent Mandate Commission.[63] During the Mandate, the name Eretz Yisrael (abbreviated א״י Aleph-Yod), was part of the official name for the territory, when written in Hebrew. These official names for Palestine were minted on the Mandate coins and early stamps (pictured) in English, Hebrew "(פלשתינה (א״י" (Palestina E"Y) and Arabic "( فلسطين"). Consequently, in 20th century political usage, the term "Land of Israel" usually denotes only those parts of the land which came under the British mandate, i.e. the land currently controlled by the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and sometimes also Transjordan (now the Kingdom of Jordan).[64]
Declaration of Independence of Israel
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181(II)) recommending "to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union." The Resolution contained a plan to partition Palestine into "Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem."[65]
On May 14, 1948, the day the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved a proclamation, in which it declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel."[66]
Usage in Israeli politics
Early government usage of the term, following Israel's establishment, continued the historical link and possible Zionist intentions. In 1951–2 David Ben-Gurion wrote "Only now, after seventy years of pioneer striving, have we reached the beginning of independence in a part of our small country."[67] Soon afterwards he wrote "It has already been said that when the State was established it held only six percent of the Jewish people remaining alive after the Nazi cataclysm. It must now be said that it has been established in only a portion of the Land of Israel. Even those who are dubious as to the restoration of the historical frontiers, as fixed and crystallised and given from the beginning of time, will hardly deny the anomaly of the boundaries of the new State."[68] The 1955 Israeli government year-book said, "It is called the 'State of Israel' because it is part of the Land of Israel and not merely a Jewish State. The creation of the new State by no means derogates from the scope of historical Eretz Israel".[69]
Herut and Gush Emunim were among the first Israeli political parties basing their land policies on the Biblical narrative discussed above. They attracted attention following the capture of additional territory in the 1967 Six-Day War. They argue that the West Bank should be annexed permanently to Israel for both ideological and religious reasons. This position is in conflict with the basic "land for peace" settlement formula included in UN242. The Likud party, in the platform it maintained until prior to the 2013 elections, had proclaimed its support for maintaining Jewish settlement communities in the West Bank and Gaza, as the territory is considered part of the historical land of Israel.[70] In her 2009 bid for Prime Minister, Kadimaleader Tzipi Livni used the expression, noting, "we need to give up parts of the Land of Israel", in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and to maintain Israel as a Jewish state; this drew a clear distinction with the position of her Likud rival and winner, Benjamin Netanyahu.[71] However, soon after winning the 2009 elections, Netanyahu delivered an address[72] at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studiesat Bar-Ilan University that was broadcast live in Israel and across parts of the Arab world, on the topic of the Middle East peace process. He endorsed for the first time the notion of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, while asserting the right to a sovereign state in Israel arises from the land being "the homeland of the Jewish people".[73]
The Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace, signed on 1993, led to the establishment of an agreed border between the two nations, and subsequently the state of Israel has no territorial claims in the parts of the historic Land of Israel lying east of the Jordan river.
Palestinian viewpoints
According to Palestinian historian Nur Masalha, Eretz Israel was a religious concept which was turned by Zionists into a political doctrine in order to emphasize an exclusive Jewish right of possession regardless of the Arab presence.[74] Masalha wrote that the Zionist movement has not given up on an expansive definition of the territory, including Jordan and more, even though political pragmatism has engendered a focus on the region west of the Jordan River.[75]
See also
Notes
  1. "Exodus 6:4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners". Bible.cc. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  2. "Gen 15:18–21; NIV; - On that day the LORD made a covenant". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  3. Michael J. Vlach, Has the Church Replaced Israel?: A Theological Evaluation,B&H Publishing Group, 2010 pp.3-5.
  4. Stephen Spector,Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism, Oxford University Press, 2009 p.21.
  5. Donald E. Wagner, Walter T. Davis, Zionism and the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land, The Lutterworth Press, 2014 p.161.
  6. Anthony J. Kenny, Catholics, Jews, and the State of Israel, Paulist Press, 1993 pp.75-78.
  7. Michael Prior, The Bible and Colonialism: A Moral Critique, A&C Black 1997 p.171: ‘As an agent of legitimacy in international law, the Zionist appeal to Tanakh for legitimation of its claims to Eretz Israel is not much more compelling than if the Portuguese and Spanish Governments today presented to the UN the bulls off Nicholas V and Alexander VI, which also claimed divine authority, in their bid to reclaim the lands of the New World. p.171.
  8. Ian Bickerton, The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Guide for the Perplexed, A&C Black, 2012 p.13.
  9. Eugene Cotran, Chibli Mallat, David Stott, (eds.) The Arab-Israeli Accords: Legal Perspectives, BRILL, 1996 pp.11-12.
  10. The Holy Land in History and Thought: Papers Submitted to the International conference edited by Moše Šārôn
  11. Israel Cohen, A Short History of Zionism, p.96, London, Frederick Muller Co., 1951
  12. Emma Playfair (1992). International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories: Two Decades of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Oxford University Press. p. 41. On 17 December 1967, the Israeli military government issued an order stating that "the term 'Judea and Samaria region' shall be identical in meaning for all purposes . .to the term 'the West Bank Region'". This change in terminology, which has been followed in Israeli official statements since that time, reflected a historic attachment to these areas and rejection of a name that was seen as implying Jordanian sovereignty over them.
  13. Masalha 2007, p. 32.
  14. Keith W. Whitelam, The Invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History, (1996) Routledge 2013, page 43.
  15. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, Westminster John Knox Press, 1990, p.152: Quote: "It may be surprising to learn that the designation “the land of Israel” (’ereṣ yiśrā’êl), in common use today, occurs for the first time in Ezekiel (40:2; 47:18) and very rarely elsewhere (I Chron. 22:2; II Chron. 2:17), apart from the more restrictive allusion to the Northern Kingdom. By preference, however, Ezekiel speaks of the "soil of Israel" (’admat yiśrā’êl), a phrase that occurs eighteen times in the book and nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. (The title “holy land," literally “holy soil”, used preferentially by Christians, occurs only once, at Zech. 2:12.)"
  16. Noth, Martin (1960). "The Land of Israel". The history of Israel. Harper. p. 8. An authentic and original name for this land as a whole has not come down to us from Old Testament times, and presumably no such ever existed; since as a natural phenomenon it was never a homogeneous, self-contained entity and was never occupied by a homogeneous population, and it was hardly at any time the scene of a political organisation which substantially coincided with its actual area. So the expression 'the land of Israel' may serve as a somewhat flexible description of the area which the Israelite tribes had their settlements.
  17. Anita Shapira, 1992, Land and Power, ISBN 0-19-506104-7, p. ix
  18. Bradley Shavit Artson, 'Our Covenant with Stones: A Jewish Ecology of Earth,' in Judaism and Envirobnmental Ehics: A Reader,Lexington Books, 2001 pp.161-171,p.162
  19. Michael L. Satlow, Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice, p.160, Columbia University Press, 2006.
  20. Sand 2012, p. 27.
  21. Rachel Havrelock, River Jordan: The Mythology of a Dividing Line,University of Chicago Press, 2011, p.21.
  22. Goldberg 2001, p. 147: The parallels between this narrative and that of Exodus continue to be drawn. Like Pharaoh before him, Herod, having been frustrated in his original efforts, now seeks to achieve his objectives by implementing a program of infanticide. As a result, here - as in Exodus - rescuing the hero’s life from the clutches of the evil king necessitates a sudden flight to another country. And finally, in perhaps the most vivid parallel of all, the present narrative uses virtually the same words of the earlier one to provide the information that the coast is clear for the herds safe return: here, in Matthew 2:20, "go [back]… for those who sought the Child's life are dead"; there, in Exodus 4:19, "go back… for all the men who sought your life are dead."
  23. Kol Torah, vol. 13, no. 9, Torah Academy of Bergen County, 8 November 2003
  24. See 6th and 7th portion commentaries by Rashi
  25. Stuart, Douglas K., Exodus, B&H Publishing Group, 2006, p. 549
  26. Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Walter A. Elwell, Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2001, p. 984
  27. The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny, By Eliezer Schweid, Translated by Deborah Greniman, Published 1985 Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press,ISBN 0-8386-3234-3, p.56.
  28. Jacob Milgrom, Numbers (JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: JPS, 1990), 502.
  29. Paul R. Williamson, "Promise and Fulfilment: The Territorial Inheritance", in Philip Johnston and Peter Walker (eds.), The Land of Promise: Biblical, Theological and Contemporary Perspectives (Leicester: Apollos, 2000), 20–21.
  30. "1 Kings 11 NIV - Solomon’s Wives - King Solomon". Bible Gateway. Retrieved2013-08-11.
  31. Menachem Lorberbaum, ‘Making and Unmaking the Boundaries of Holy Land,’ in Allen E. Buchanan, Margaret Moore (eds) States, nations, and borders: the ethics of making boundaries. Cambridge University Press, 2003 pp19-40 p.24
  32. p.xxxv, R. Yisrael Meir haKohen (Chofetz Chayim), The Concise Book of Mitzvoth. This version of the list was prepared in 1968.
  33. Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim, Shmita
  34. The Ramban's addition to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot.
  35. Ezekiel 47:21 "You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance," declares the Sovereign LORD.
  36. "Edersheim Bible History – Bk. 1, Ch. 10". Godrules.net. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  37. "Edersheim Bible History – Bk. 1, Ch. 13". Godrules.net. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  38. "Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible – Genesis 15". Gotothebible.com. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  39. "Genesis – Chapter 15 – Verse 13 – The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible on". Studylight.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  40. "Parshah In-Depth – Lech-Lecha". Chabad.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  41. "Did God send the angel to save Ishmael so that Islam could exist since Moslems believe Ishmael is the father of the Arabs?". Bible.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  42. "Reformed Answers: Ishmael and Esau". Thirdmill.org. Retrieved 13 November2011.
  43. "The Promises to Isaac and Ishmael". Christianleadershipcenter.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  44. "God Calls Abram Abraham". Washingtonubf.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  45. "Nigeriaworld Feature Article – The Abrahamic Covenant: Its scope and significance – A commentary on Dr. Malcolm Fabiyi's essay". Nigeriaworld.com. 17 March 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  46. Keil, Carl Friedrich; Delitzsch, Franz (1866). "Biblical commentary on the Old Testament".
  47. Yitzhak Ginsburgh, Rectifying the State of Israel (Israel: Gal Einai Institute, 2002), 52.
  48. "Pinḥas, the Quest for Purity, and the Dangers of Tikkun Olam". www.academia.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  49. Teitelbaum, Al Ha-Ge‘ulah ve-al Ha-Temurah (1967), pp. 7-9, 20, as translated in Ravitzky, Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism, 75.
  50. Augustine, The City of God (Book XVII), Chapter II. "And it was fulfilled through David, and Solomon his son, whose kingdom was extended over the whole promised space; for they subdued all those nations, and made them tributary. And thus, under those kings, the seed of Abraham was established in the land of promise according to the flesh, that is, in the land of Canaan..."
  51. Solomon Zeitlin, The Jews. Race, Nation, or Religion? (Philadelphia: Dropsie College Press, 1936). Cited in, Edelheit and Edelheit, History of Zionism: A Handbook and Dictionary
  52. Hershel Edelheit and Abraham J. Edelheit, History of Zionism: A Handbook and Dictionary, Westview Press, 2000. p 3.
  53. De Lange, Nicholas, An Introduction to Judaism, Cambridge University Press (2000), p. 30. ISBN 0-521-46624-5. The term "Zionism" was derived from the word Zion,which is the other name for Jerusalem, and is associated with the Return to Zion and coined by Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, in his journal Selbstemanzipation (Self Emancipation) in 1890.
  54. "The First Zionist Congress and the Basel Program". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  55. "The World: Pursuing Peace; Netanyahu and His Party Turn Away from Greater Israel". The New York Times. 22 November 1998. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  56. Raffaella A. Del Sarto, Israel's Contested Identity and the Mediterranean, The territorial-political axis: Eretz Israel versus Medinat Israel, p. 8
  57. "British control: Mandate Palestine". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  58. 3 Feb 1919 Statement, quote "... recognize the historic title of the Jewish people to Palestine and the right of Jews to reconstitute in Palestine their National Home"
  59. "Zionist Organization Statement on Palestine, Paris Peace Conference, (February 3, 1919)". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  60. "League of Nations Mandate for Palestine". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 24 July 1922. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  61. Israel Cohen, A Short History of Zionism, p.96, London, Frederick Muller Co., 1951,
  62. Meeting on November 9, 1920, quoted in: Memorandum No. 33, "Use of the Name Eretz-Israel’," in the Report by the Palestine Royal Commission, 1937,Memoranda Prepared by the Government of Palestine, C. O. No. 133.
  63. League of Nations, Permanent Mandate Commission, Minutes of the Ninth Session (Arab Grievances), Held at Geneva from 8 to 25 June 1926
  64. Israel's declaration of independence says "the British Mandate over Eretz Yisrael, and the Israeli law uses the term Eretz Yisrael to denote the territory subject directly to the British Mandate law, e.g. Article 11 of the "Government and Law Ordinance 1948" issued by Israel's Provisional State Council.
  65. "UNITED NATIONS ''General Assembly: A/RES/181(II):29 November 1947Resolution 181 (II). Future government of Palestine'': Retrieved 24 April 2012". Domino.un.org. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  66. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: THE DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL: May 14, 1948: Retrieved 24 April 2012
  67. David Ben-Gurion, "The Call of Spirit in Israel", in State of Israel, Government Yearbook, 5712 (1951/1952), page x.
  68. David Ben-Gurion, "Israel among the Nations", in State of Israel, Government Year-book, 5713 (1952), page 15.
  69. State of Israel, "Israel, the State and the Nation" in Government Year-book, 5716 (1955), page 320.
  70. Likud – Platform, knesset.gov.il, archived from the original on 2012-02-04, retrieved 4 September 2008
  71. "Tzipi Livni: give up half of Land of Israel". The Telegraph. 2009-02-16. Retrieved2015-04-23.
  72. "Full text of Binyamin Netanyahu's Bar Ilan speech". Haaretz. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  73. Keinon, Herb (14 June 2009). "Netanyahu wants demilitarized PA state". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  74. Masalha 2007, p. 2-6.
  75. Masalha 2007, pp. 32–38.
Further reading

 Greater Israel 
Greater Israel is an expression, with several different Biblical and political meanings over time. It is often used, in an irredentist fashion, to refer to the historic or desired borders of Israel.
Currently, the most common definition of the land encompassed by the term is the territory of the State of Israel together with the Palestinian territories. Earlier definitions, favored by Revisionist Zionism, included the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine with or without the Transjordan that developed independently after 1923. Religious uses of "Greater Israel" refer to one of the Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel found in Genesis 15:18–21, Deuteronomy 11:24, Deuteronomy 1:7,Numbers 34:1–15 or Ezekiel 47:13–20.
History
Promised Land
Greater Israel occasionally refers to the Promised Land (defined in Genesis 15:18-21) or to the Land of Israel, also called Complete Land of Israel or Entire Land of Israel(Hebrew: ארץ ישראל השלמה‎‎, Eretz Yisrael Hashlemah). This is a more accurate translation than "Greater Israel", which is used in English but has no real counterpart in Hebrew.
The Bible contains three geographical definitions of the Land of Israel. The first, found in Genesis 15:18–21, seems to define the land that was given to all of the children of Abraham, including Ishmael, Zimran, Jokshan, Midian, etc. It describes a large territory, "from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Oman, Yemen, most of Turkey, and all the land east of the Nile river.
The other definitions are found in Deuteronomy 11:24, Deuteronomy 1:7, Numbers 34:1–15, and Ezekiel 47:13–20. They describe smaller territories (see the map included in this article). The definition in Numbers and Ezekiel refers to the land that was divided between the original twelve tribes of Israel after they were delivered from Egypt, and finally, the borders defined in the book of Deuteronomy are those that will be given to the children of Israel slowly throughout the years (please see Exodus 23:29 & Deuteronomy 7:22).
During British Mandate of Palestine
Early Revisionist Zionist groups such as Betar and Irgun Zvai-Leumi regarded as Greater Israel the territory of the Mandate of Palestine including Transjordan.[1]
In 1937, the Peel Commission recommended partition of Mandatory Palestine. In a letter to his son later that year, David Ben-Gurion stated that partition would be acceptable but as a first step. Ben-Gurion wrote that "This is because this increase in possession is of consequence not only in itself, but because through it we increase our strength, and every increase in strength helps in the possession of the land as a whole. The establishment of a state, even if only on a portion of the land, is the maximal reinforcement of our strength at the present time and a powerful boost to our historical endeavors to liberate the entire country."[2] [3] [4] The same sentiment was recorded by Ben-Gurion on other occasions, such as at a meeting of the Jewish Agency executive in June 1938,[5] as well as by Chaim Weizmann.[4] [6] Ben Gurion said: "We shall smash these frontiers which are being forced upon us, and not necessarily by war. I believe an agreement between us and the Arab State could be reached in a not too distant future."[7]
During early period of the State of Israel
Joel Greenberg, writing in the New York Times notes: "At Israel's founding in 1948, the Labor Zionist leadership, which went on to govern Israel in its first three decades of independence, accepted a pragmatic partition of what had been British Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states. The opposition Revisionist Zionists, who evolved into today's Likud party, sought Eretz Yisrael Ha-Shlema—Greater Israel, or literally, the Whole Land of Israel (shalem, meaning complete)."[8] The capture of the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan and Egypt during the Six Day War in 1967, led to the growth of the non-parliamentary Movement for Greater Israel and the construction of Israeli settlements. The 1977 elections, which brought Likud to power also had considerable impact on acceptance and rejection of the term. Greenberg notes:
THE seed was sown in 1977, when Menachem Begin of Likud brought his party to power for the first time in a stunning election victory over Labor. A decade before, in the 1967 war, Israeli troops had in effect undone the partition accepted in 1948 by overrunning the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ever since, Mr. Begin had preached undying loyalty to what he called Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and promoted Jewish settlement there. But he did not annex the West Bank and Gaza to Israel after he took office, reflecting a recognition that absorbing the Palestinians could turn Israel into a bi-national state instead of a Jewish one.[8]
Yitzhak Shamir was a dedicated proponent of Greater Israel and as Israeli Prime Minister gave the settler movement funding and Israeli governmental legitimisation.[9]
Today
In a May 1998 interview with ABC's John Miller, Osama bin Laden noted what he saw as "Zionist plans for expansion of what is called the Great Israel ... to achieve full control over the Arab Peninsula which they intend to make an important part of the so called Greater Israel." While not his main reason, Bin Laden included what he saw as American and Western support for such a scheme as an additional motivation for his call to wage war against America and its allies.[10]
Annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was part of the platform of the Israeli Likud party, and of some other Israeli political parties.[11] On September 14, 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remarked that "Greater Israel is over. There is no such thing. Anyone who talks that way is deluding themselves".[12]
Meir Kahane, an ultra-nationalist Knesset member, who founded the American Jewish Defense League and the banned Israeli Kach party, worked towards Greater Israel and other Religious Zionist goals.
Currently in Israel, in the debate relating to the borders of Israel, "Greater Israel" is generally used to refer to the territory of the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the combined territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. However, because of the controversial nature of the term, the term Land of Israel is often used instead.
10 Agorot coin controversy
Zionists, and the State of Israel, have been accused of plotting to expand Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates. This so-called 10 agorot controversy is named after the Israeli coin[13] brandished by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat in 1988 as evidence for this accusation. The Bank of Israel denies this conspiracy theory since the coin is a replica of a historical coin dating from 37-40 BCE and the "map" is actually the irregular shape of the ancient coin.[14]
Israeli flag controversy
Critics of Israel have stated the blue strips of the Israeli flag represent the Nile and Euphrates as the boundaries of Eretz Isra'el as promised to the Jews by God.[15] This claim was at a time made by Yasser Arafat, Iran and Hamas.[16] However, both Zionists and Anti-Zionists have debunked this.[17] Danny Rubinstein points out that "Arafat ... added, in interviews that he gave in the past, that the two blue stripes on the Israeli flag represent the Nile and the Euphrates. ... No Israeli, even those who demonstrate understanding for Palestinian distress, will accept the ... nonsense about the blue stripes on the flag, which was designed according to the colors of the traditional tallit (prayer shawl) ..."[18]
In academia
Hillel Weiss, a professor at Bar-Ilan University, preaches the "necessity" of rebuilding the Temple and of Jewish rule over Greater Israel.[19] [20] [21]
Palestinian irredentism
Emblem of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
A similar territory to the one claimed today byGreater Israel supporters, "from the river to the sea", was also claimed as Palestine by thePLO[22] until the Oslo Accords[23] and is still claimed by Hamas.[24] For illustration, see the current emblems of the PLO and most of its constituents: Fatah, the PFLP, DFLP, PLF, PPSF, and ALF. Also, compare the emblems of the Irgun and Fatah.
See also
References
  1. Pappé, Ilan (1994). The Making of the Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1947–1951. London: I.B.Tauris. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-85043-819-9.
  2. Letter from David Ben-Gurion to his son Amos, written 5 October 1937, Obtained from the Ben-Gurion Archives in Hebrew, and translated into English by the Institute of Palestine Studies, Beirut
  3. Morris, Benny (2011), Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1998, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, p. 138, ISBN 9780307788054Quote: "No Zionist can forgo the smallest portion of the Land Of Israel. [A] Jewish state in part [of Palestine] is not an end, but a beginning. … Our possession is important not only for itself … through this we increase our power, and every increase in power facilitates getting hold of the country in its entirety. Establishing a [small] state … will serve as a very potent lever in our historical effort to redeem the whole country"
  4. Finkelstein, Norman (2005), Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-semitism and the Abuse of History, University of California Press, p. 280,ISBN 9780520245983
  5. Quote from a meeting of the Jewish Agency executive in June 1938: "[I am] satisfied with part of the country, but on the basis of the assumption that after we build up a strong force following the establishment of the state, we will abolish the partition of the country and we will expand to the whole Land of Israel." in Masalha, Nur (1992), Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of "Transfer" in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948, Inst for Palestine Studies, p. 107,ISBN 9780887282355; and Segev, Tom (2000), One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate, Henry Holt and Company, p. 403,ISBN 9780805048483
  6. From a letter from Chaim Weizmann to Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, High Commissioner for Palestine, while the Peel Commission was convening in 1937: "We shall spread in the whole country in the course of time … this is only an arrangement for the next 25 to 30 years." Masalha, Nur (1992), Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of "Transfer" in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948, Inst. for Palestine Studies, p. 62, ISBN 9780887282355
  7. Howard M. Sachar History of Israel from the rise of Zionism to our Time pp. 207-208
  8. The World: Pursuing Peace; Netanyahu and His Party Turn Away from 'Greater Israel'
  9. Mordechai Bar-On (2004) A Never-Ending Conflict: A Guide to Israeli Military History Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-275-98158-4 p 219
  10. http://web.archive.org/web/19990508145341/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.htmlInterview: Osama bin Laden], Frontline, 1999
  11. "Likud - Platform". www.knesset.gov.il. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  12. Ha'aretz 14 September 2008 Olmert: There's no such thing as 'Greater Israel' any more By Barak Ravid "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday reiterated his position that the vision of Israel holding onto the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of its sovereign territory was finished."
  13. [1]
  14. Daniel Pipes (1998). The Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of Conspiracy. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 51. ISBN 9780312176884. Retrieved 22 April 2016. In fact, the coin contains no map; the outline behind the menorah traces the shape of the surviving Hasmonean coin.
  15. Genesis 15.18: "The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt [the Nile] unto the great river, the River Euphrates."
  16. Playboy Interview: Yasir Arafat, Playboy, September 1988. ARAFAT: Yes, because they don't want it. Look at the slogans they use: that the land of Israel is from the Euphrates to the Nile. This was written for many years over the entrance to the Knesset, the parliament. It shows their national ambition—they want to advance to the Jordan River. One Israel for them, what's left for us... Do you know what the meaning of the Israeli flag is? PLAYBOY: No. ARAFAT: It is white with two blue lines. The two lines represent two rivers, and in between is Israel. The rivers are the Nile and the Euphrates.
  17. Pipes, Daniel. Imperial Israel: The Nile-to-Euphrates Calumny, Middle East Quarterly, March, 1994. Accessed April 3, 2006.
  18. Rubinstein, Danny. Inflammatory legends, Haaretz, November 15, 2004. Accessed August 2, 2014.
  19. Haaretz "Weiss versa" by Avi Garfunkel, 30 January 2004
  20. friendvill0104 (copy of Ha'aretz article)
  21. ABC News
  22. The PNC Program of 1974, June 8, 1974. On the site of MidEastWeb for Coexistence R.A. - Middle East Resources. Page includes commentary. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  23. Israel-PLO Recognition – Exchange of Letters between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat – 9–1 Sept, 993
  24. "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)". MidEast Web. August 18, 1988.
External links
  • For The Land and The Lord: The Range of Disagreement within Jewish Fundamentalism, by Ian Lustick, chapter V and chapter VII (accessed 12 October 2005)
  • A collection of maps of Eretz Israel HaShlema (Greater Israel), from GlobalSecurity.org.

 Geography of Israel 
The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north.Israel is located at 31°30′N 34°45′E / 31.500°N 34.750°Eat the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia.[1] It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt.[1]To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km (170 mi) coastline[3] and the Gaza Strip. Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south.
Israel's area is approximately 20,770 km2(8,019 sq mi), which includes 445 km2 (172 sq mi) of inland water.[1] [2] [3] Israel stretches 424 km (263 mi) from north to south, and its width ranges from 114 km (71 mi) to, at its narrowest point, 15 km (9.3 mi).[3] The Israeli-occupied territories include the West Bank, 5,879 km2 (2,270 sq mi), East Jerusalem, 70 km2(27 sq mi) and the Golan Heights, 1,150 km2 (444 sq mi).[2] Geographical features in these territories will be noted as such.
Southern Israel is dominated by the Negev desert, covering some 16,000 square kilometres (6,178 sq mi), more than half of the country's total land area. The north of the Negev contains the Judean Desert, which, at its border with Jordan, contains the Dead Sea which, at −417 m (−1,368 ft) is the lowest point on Earth. The inland area of central Israel is dominated by the Judean Hills of the West Bank, whilst the central and northern coastline consists of the flat and fertile Israeli coastal plain. Inland, the northern region contains the Mount Carmel mountain range, which is followed inland by the fertile Jezreel Valley, and then the hilly Galilee region. The Sea of Galilee is located beyond this, and is bordered to the east by the Golan Heights, which contains the highest point under Israel's control, a peak in the Israeli-occupied Mount Hermon massif, at 2,224 meters (7,297 ft). The highest point in territory internationally recognized as Israeli is Mount Meron at 1,208 meters (3,963 ft).[1]
Location and boundaries
Israel lies to the north of the equator around 31°30' north latitude and 34°45' east longitude.[1] It measures 424 km (263 mi) from north to south and, at its widest point 114 km (71 mi), from east to west.[1] At its narrowest point, however, this is reduced to just 15 km (9 mi). It has a land frontier of 1,017 km (632 mi) and a coastline of 273 km (170 mi).[1] It is ranked 153 on the List of countries and outlying territories by total area.[1]
Prior to the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine, there was no clear-cut definition of the geographical and territorial limits of the area known as "Palestine." On the eve of World War I it was described by Encyclopedia Britannicaas a "nebulous geographical concept."[4] The Sykes-Picot Treaty in 1916 divided the region that later became Palestine into four political units.[5] Under the British Mandate for Palestine, the first geo-political framework was created that distinguished the area from the larger countries that surrounded it. The boundary demarcation at this time did not introduce geographical changes near the frontiers and both sides of the border were controlled by the British administration.[6]
Modern Israel is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt. To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km (170 mi) coastline and the Gaza Strip. Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south. The southernmost settlement in Israel is the city of Eilat whilst the northernmost is the town of Metula. The territorial waters of Israel extend into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the appropriate baseline.[1]
The statistics provided by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics include the annexedEast Jerusalem and Golan Heights, but exclude the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The population of Israel includes Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The route of the Israeli West Bank barrier incorporates some parts of the West Bank.
Population (thousands)Area (km2 )
NameStatus DescriptionIsraelis(incl.Israeli Jews andIsraeli Arabs in Israel proper, and incl.Israeli settlers in theIsraeli-occupied territories)Cumulative TotalPalestinians(incl. non-IsraeliPalestinians residing legally in Israel)Cumulative TotalAreaCumulative Total
Israel (Green Line)Area sovereign to Israel since 19486,674[7]6,674[7]100-120 [8]100-120 [8]20,582[7]20,582[7]
East JerusalemOccupiedand subject to Israeli law since 1967. Formal legislation on 1980 (seeJerusalem Law)455[9]7,129[7]225 (double counted)[10]225[7]336[11]20,918[7]
Golan HeightsOccupiedsince 1967, subject toIsraeli lawsince 1981 (see Golan Heights Law)42[12]7,172[12]n.a.n.a. (Syrians)1,154[13]22,072[13]
Seam Zone(West Bank)Area between the Green Line and the Israeli West Bank barrier.Occupied in 1967188[14]7,359[7]35[14]260[7]200[11]22,272[7]
Other Israeli settlementsand IDFMilitary Areas (West Bank Area C)Other Israeli settlements (not in East Jerusalemor theSeam Zone) and areas in the West Bankdirectly controlled by the IDF.Occupied in 196757[7]7,473[12]115[15]375[7]2,961[16]25,233[7]
Palestiniancivil control (West BankAreas A+B)Palestinian National Authoritycivil controlled area. Subject to "joint" military control with the IDF.Occupied in 196707,473[7]2,311[17]2,686[7]2,143[15]27,376[7]
Gaza StripPalestiniangoverned area. Israelcontrols airspace, maritime border and its own border with Gaza.Occupied in 1967,unilaterally disengagedin 2005, declared a foreign entity in 2007.07,473[7]1,552[18]4,238[7]360[18]27,736[7]
Physiographic regions
Israel is divided into four physiographic regions: the Mediterranean coastal plain, the Central Hills, the Jordan Rift Valley and the Negev Desert.[1]
Coastal plain
Northern coast
The Israeli Coastal Plain stretches from the Lebanese border in the north to Gaza in the south, interrupted only by Cape Carmel at Haifa Bay.[19] It is about 40 kilometers (25 mi) wide at Gaza and narrows toward the north to about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) at the Lebanese border.[19]The region is fertile and humid (historically malarial) and is known for its citrus orchards and viticulture.[19] The plain is traversed by several short streams. From north to south these are: the Kishon, the Hadera, the Alexander, the Poleg, and the Yarkon. All of these streams were badly polluted, but in the last ten years much work has been done to clean them up. Today the Kishon, Alexander and Yarkon again flow year round, and also have parks along their banks.[20]
The region is divided into five sub-regions. The Western Galilee stretches from Rosh HaNikra in the far north, down to Israel's third-largest city, Haifa. It is a fertile region containing with a coastline with many small islands off of it.[21] South of Haifa is theHof HaCarmel region which runs to the town of Zikhron Ya'akov. The Sharon plain is the next stage down the Coastal Plain, running from Zikhron Ya'akov to Tel Aviv's Yarkon River. This area is Israel's most densely populated. South of this, running to Nahal Shikma, is the Central Coastal Plain. The southern region of the Coastal Plain is the Southern Coastal Plain (also known as the Shephelah, Plain of Judea, and Western Negev) and extends south to the Gaza Strip. It is divided into two. The Besor region, a savanna-type area with a relatively large number of communities, in the north, and the Agur-Halutsa region in the south which is very sparsely populated.[21]
Central hills
Judaean Mountains
Inland (east) of the coastal plain lies the centralhighland region.[19] In the north of this region lie the mountains and hills of Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee, which are generally 500 meters (1,640 ft) to 700 meters (2,297 ft) in height, although they reach a maximum height of 1,208 meters (3,963 ft) at Mount Meron.[19] South of the Galilee, in the West Bank, are the Samarian Hills with numerous small, fertile valleys rarely reaching the height of 800 meters (2,625 ft).[19]South of Jerusalem, also mainly within the West Bank, are the Judean Hills, including Mount Hebron.[19] The central highlands average 610 meters (2,001 ft) in height and reach their highest elevation at Har Meron, at 1,208 meters (3,963 ft), in Galilee near Safed.[19] Several valleys cut across the highlands roughly from east to west; the largest is the Jezreel Valley (also known as the Plain of Esdraelon), which stretches 48 kilometers (30 mi) from Haifa southeast to the valley of the Jordan River, and is 19 kilometers (12 mi) across at its widest point.[19]
Jordan Rift Valley
Jordan Rift Valley
East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which is a small part of the 6,500 kilometers (4,039 mi)-long Syrian-East African Rift.[19] In Israel the Rift Valley is dominated by the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee (an important freshwater source also known as Lake Tiberias and Lake Kinneret), and the Dead Sea.[19] The Jordan, Israel's largest river (322 kilometers (200 mi)), originates in the Dan,Baniyas, and Hasbani rivers near Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and flows south through the drained Hula Basin into the freshwater Lake Tiberias. Lake Tiberias is 165 square kilometers (64 sq mi) in size and, depending on the season and rainfall, is at about 213 meters (699 ft) below sea level.[19] With a water capacity estimated at 3 cubic kilometers (0.72 cu mi), it serves as the principal reservoir of theNational Water Carrier (also known as the Kinneret-Negev Conduit).[19] The Jordan River continues its course from the southern end of Lake Tiberias (forming the boundary between the West Bank and Jordan) to its terminus in the highly saline Dead Sea.[19] The Dead Sea is 1,020 square kilometers (394 sq mi) in size and, at 420 meters (1,378 ft) below sea level, is the lowest surface point on the earth.[19] South of the Dead Sea, the Rift Valley continues in the Arabah (Hebrew "Arava", Arabic "Wadi 'Arabah"), which has no permanent water flow, for 170 kilometers (106 mi) to the Gulf of Eilat.[19]
Negev Desert
Makhtesh Ramon
The Negev Desert comprises approximately 12,000 square kilometers (4,633 sq mi), more than half of Israel's total land area.[19]Geographically it is an extension of the Sinai Desert, forming a rough triangle with its base in the north near Beersheba, the Dead Sea, and the southern Judean Mountains, and it has its apex in the southern tip of the country at Eilat.[19] Topographically, it parallels the other regions of the country, with lowlands in the west, hills in the central portion, and the Arava valley as its eastern border.[19]
Unique to the Negev region are the craterlike makhteshim cirques; Makhtesh Ramon, Makhtesh Gadol and Makhtesh Katan.[22] The Negev is also sub-divided into five different ecological regions: northern, western and central Negev, the high plateau and the Arabah Valley.[23] The northern Negev receives 300 millimeters (11.8 in) of rain annually and has fairly fertile soils.[23] The western Negev receives 250 millimeters (9.8 in) of rain per year, with light and partially sandy soils.[23] The central Negev has an annual precipitation of 200 millimeters (7.9 in) and is characterized by impervious soil, allowing minimum penetration of water with greater soil erosion and water runoff.[23] This can result in rare flash floods during heavy rains as water runs across the surface of the impervious desert soil.[24] The high plateau area of Ramat HaNegev stands between 370 meters (1,214 ft) and 520 meters (1,706 ft) above sea level with extreme temperatures in summer and winter.[23] The area gets 100 millimeters (3.9 in) of rain each year, with inferior and partially salty soils.[23] The Arabah Valley along the Jordanian border stretches 180 kilometers (112 mi) from Eilat in the south to the tip of the Dead Sea in the north and is very arid with barely 50 millimeters (1.97 in) of rain annually.[23]
Geology
Rosh HaNikra chalk cliff
Israel is divided east-west by a mountain range running north to south along the coast.Jerusalem sits on the top of this ridge, east of which lies the Dead Sea graben which is a pull-apart basin on the Dead Sea Transform fault.[25]
The numerous limestone and sandstone layers of the Israeli mountains serve as aquifers through which water flows from the west flank to the east. Several springs have formed along the Dead Sea, each an oasis, most notably the oases at Ein Gedi and Ein Bokek (Neve Zohar) where settlements have developed.[25] Israel also has a number of areas of karst topography. Caves in the region have been used for thousands of years as shelter, storage rooms, barns and as places of public gatherings.[25]
The far northern coastline of the country has some chalk landscapes best seen atRosh HaNikra, a chalk cliff into which a series of grottoes have been eroded.[26]
Seismic activity
The Jordan Rift Valley is the result of tectonic movements within the Dead Sea Transform (DSF) fault system. The DSF forms the transform boundary between the African Plate to the west and the Arabian Plate to the east. The Golan Heights and all of Jordan are part of the Arabian Plate, while the Galilee, West Bank, Coastal Plain, and Negev along with the Sinai Peninsula are on the African Plate. This tectonic disposition leads to a relatively high seismic activity in the region.
The entire Jordan Valley segment is thought to have ruptured repeatedly, for instance during the last two major earthquakes along this structure in 749 and 1033. The deficit in slip that has built up since the 1033 event is sufficient to cause an earthquake of Mw~7.4.[27]
The most catastrophic earthquakes we know of occurred in 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033 CE, that is every ca. 400 years on average.[28] Destructive earthquakes leading to serious loss of life strike about every 80 years.[29] While stringent construction regulations are currently in place and recently built structures are earthquake-safe, as of 2007 the majority of the buildings in Israel were older than these regulations and many public buildings as well as 50,000 residential buildings did not meet the new standards and were "expected to collapse" if exposed to a strong quake.[29]Given the fragile political situation of the Middle East region and the presence there of major holy sites, a quake reaching magnitude 7 on the Richter scale could have dire consequences for world peace.[28]
Notable earthquakes
The region has experienced many earthquakes, the most destructive we know of are those of 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033 CE. Major earthquakes have included:
  • 92 BCE – coast hit by tsunamis[30]
  • 140 BCE – disastrous earthquake between Tyre and Ptolemais (Acre/Akko)[31] [32]
  • 31 BCE – epicenter in the Jordan Valley, magnitude at least 7; among the largest in 2000 years.[31] Josephus Flavius writes of 30,000 people killed (War, Chapter 19-4)[33] Damages Emmaus and Caesarea.[32]
  • 115 CE – Yavne and Caesarea are hit by a tsunami[30]
  • 130 – strong earthquakes affect among other places Caesarea, Lydda and Emmaus.[30] Different sources give varying dates: 129,[34] 131[31] [35]
  • 306 – tsunami on the Levantine coast.[32] Affects or is felt in Caesarea, Tiberias, Jerusalem.
  • 363 – the Galilee earthquake. See also next (365 CE) earthquake. The failed attempt of the Jews to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple during the reign of Emperor Julian is connected by some to the earthquake.
  • 419 – earthquake causes destruction in Antipatris[30]
  • 502 – Ptolemais allegedly destroyed (Syriac chronicle of Joshua the Stylite[36] ), tsunami hits northern coast,[30] Safed, Latrun (Nicopolis) affected[37]
  • 551 – affects much of the Middle East, possibly largest event in the Levant (see551 Beirut earthquake).[31] [32] Gush Halav is destroyed. A major tsunami sweeps the coast from Caesarea to Tripoli, Lebanon[30]
  • 633 – affects Emmatha in the Yarmouk Valley[38]
  • 658 – affects Syria and Palestine.[32] Jerusalem is badly damaged according to the chronicles of Michael the Syrian and Theophanes the Confessor.[39]
  • 672 – Ascalon, Gaza and Ramla hit by strong earthquake[30]
  • 746–749 – a series of earthquakes, often confused into one (see 749 Galilee earthquake). Tiberias, Baysan (Beit She'an) and Hippos were largely destroyed. A large event was centered in the Jordan Valley and had a magnitude of 7.6.[31] [32]
  • 808 – An earthquake affects Jerusalem[31]
  • 881 – An earthquake on the Levantine coast leads to a tsunami at Acre[32]
  • 1016 – Jerusalem, Jaffa and the region around are affected[31] [40]
  • 1033–34 – an earthquake which is felt for 40 days destroys Ramla, Jericho and Nablus[31]
  • 1063 – a large earthquake hits the Levantine littoral. Acre is badly damaged[30]
  • 1068 – ground-rupturing event in Wadi Arabah. Ramla was totally destroyed and lay abandoned for four years after losing some 15,000–25,000 inhabitants in the earthquake.[41]
  • 1070 – a large earthquake centered in the Beqaa Valley affects Palestine[31] [32]
  • 1091 – coastal towns affected, city towers collapse[30]
  • 1157 - the Hama earthquake affected Christian monasteries and churches in the vicinity of Jerusalem
  • 1170 – Caesarea damaged by tremor[30]
  • 1202 – an earthquake centered in Syria[37] leaves many towns and castles in northern and central Palestine badly damaged, such as Acre and Nablus. The eastern and western halves of the ruins of the Crusader castle of Jacob's Fordare displaced relatively to each other by 1.6 metres due to the castle's position exactly straddling a faultline
  • 1261 – between Akko and Tripoli islands disappear under the sea[30]
  • 1752 – coast of Syria and Palestine hit by strong earthquake[30]
  • 1759 - the Near East earthquakes of 1759: Nablus and Acre are affected
  • 1834 - 1834 Jerusalem earthquake: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron are affected
  • 1837 – the Galilee earthquake of 1837, known as the Safed earthquake. TheRoum fault, and its extension south to the Sea of Galilee, were sources of the event[42]
  • 1898 – Haifa damaged by earthquake[30]
  • 1927 – the Jericho earthquake. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the northern area of the Dead Sea. The cities of Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramle, Tiberias, and Nablus were heavily damaged and at least 500 were estimated to have been killed.[43] The death toll in Jerusalem included more than 130 people and around 450 were injured. About 300 houses collapsed or were severely damaged to the point of not being usable. The earthquake also caused heavy damage to the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque. The earthquake was especially severe in Nablus where it destroyed around 300 buildings, including the Mosque of Victory and the historic parts of the Great Mosque of Nablus.[44] The death toll in Nablus included more than 150 people and around 250 were injured. In Jericho, a number of houses collapsed, including several relatively new hotels in one of which three female tourists from India were killed.[45] In addition, the Allenby Bridge collapsed and theJordan river was blocked for about 21 hours following a collapse of marl cliffs from its banks. Ramla and Tiberias were also heavily damaged.
Rivers and lakes
Israel's longest and most famous river is the 320-kilometre (199 mi) long River Jordan, which rises on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon mountains.[46] The river flows south through the freshwater Sea of Galilee, and from there forms the boundary with the Kingdom of Jordan for much of its route, eventually emptying into the Dead Sea.[46] The northern tributaries to the Jordan are the Dan, Banias, and Hasbani.[46] Only the Dan is within undisputed Israel; the Hasbani flows from Lebanon and the Banias from territory captured from Syria in theSix-Day War.[46]
Lake Kinneret
The Sea of Galilee (also called the Kinneret) is Israel's largest and most important freshwaterlake, located in the northeast of the country. The pear-shaped lake is 23 kilometres (14 mi) long from north to south, with a maximum width of 13 kilometres (8 mi) in the north, covering 166 square kilometers (64 sq mi). The Kinneret lies 207 meters (679 ft) below sea level and reaches depths of 46 meters (151 ft). In a previous geological epoch the lake was part of a large inland sea which extended from the Hula marshes in northern Israel to 64 kilometers (40 mi) south of the Dead Sea. The bed of the lake forms part of theJordan Rift Valley.[47]
South of the Kinneret lies the saltwater Dead Sea which forms the border between Israel and Jordan and is 418 meters (1,371 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest water surface on Earth.[48] The Dead Sea is 67 kilometers (42 mi) long with a maximum width of 16 kilometers (10 mi) and also makes up part of the Rift Valley.[48]A peninsula juts out into the lake from the eastern shore, south of which the lake is shallow, less than 6 meters (19.7 ft) deep. To the north is the lake's greatest depth.[48]
There are no navigable, artificial waterways in Israel, although the National Water Carrier, a conduit for drinking water, might be classified as such. The idea of achannel connecting the Mediterranean and Dead Seas or the Red and Dead Seas has been discussed.[49]
Selected elevations
Mount Tabor
The following are selected elevations of notable locations, from highest to lowest:[50]
LocationRegionElevation (feet)Elevation (meters)
Mount HermonGolan Heights(Israeli-occupied)7,336 ft.2,236 m.
Mount MeronUpper Galilee3,964 ft.1,208 m.
Mount RamonNegev3,396 ft.1,035 m.
Mount of OlivesEast Jerusalem (Israeli-occupied)2,739 ft.835 m.
Mount TaborLower Galilee1,930 ft.588 m.
Mount CarmelHaifa1,792 ft.546 m.
Dead SeaJudean Desert – 1,368 ft. – 417 m.
Climate
Israel map of Köppen climate classification.
Snow in Galilee
Flash flood at Ein Avdat
Israel has a Mediterranean climate with long, hot, rainless summers and relatively short, cool, rainy winters (Köppen climate classification Csa).[51] The climate is as such due to Israel's location between the subtropical aridity of the Saharaand the Arabian deserts, and the subtropical humidity of the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean.[51] The climate conditions are highly variable within the state and modified locally by altitude, latitude, and the proximity to the Mediterranean.[51]
On average, January is the coldest month with average temperatures ranging from 6 to 15 °C (42.8 to 59.0 °F), and July and August are the hottest months at 22 to 33 °C (71.6 to 91.4 °F), on average across the country.[51] Summers are very humid along the Mediterranean coast but dry in the central highlands, the Rift Valley, and the Negev Desert. In Eilat, a desert city, summer daytime-temperatures are often the highest in the state, at times reaching 44 to 46 °C (111.2 to 114.8 °F). More than 70% of the average rainfall in Israel falls between November and March; June through September are usually rainless.[51] Rainfall is unevenly distributed, significantly lower in the south of the country.[51] In the extreme south, rainfall averages near 30 millimeters (1.18 in) annually; in the north, average annual rainfall exceeds 900 millimeters (35.4 in).[51]Rainfall varies from season to season and from year to year, particularly in the Negev Desert. Precipitation is often concentrated in violent storms, causing erosionand flash floods.[51] In winter, precipitation often takes the form of snow at the higher elevations of the central highlands, including Jerusalem.[51] Mount Hermon has seasonal snow which covers all three of its peaks in winter and spring. In rare occasions, snow gets to the northern mountain peaks and only in extremely rare occasions even to the coast. The areas of the country most cultivated are those receiving more than 300 millimeters (11.8 in) of rainfall annually, making approximately one-third of the country cultivable.[51]
Thunderstorms and hail are common throughout the rainy season and waterspouts occasionally hit the Mediterranean coast, capable of causing only minor damage. However, supercell thunderstorms and a true F2 tornado hit the Western Galilee in April 2006, causing significant damage and 75 injuries.[52]
Heat waves are frequent. 2010 was the hottest year in the history of Israel with absolute record high in several places in August. The heat became stronger from August when temperatures were considerably above the average. October and November were also dry, and November was almost rainless when it was supposed to be rainy.
Climate charts of different locations in Israel


 Promised Land 
Map showing one interpretation of the borders of the Promised Land, based on God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15).
The Promised Land (Hebrew:הארץ המובטחת‎‎, translit.: Ha'Aretz HaMuvtahat; Arabic: أرض الميعاد‎‎, translit.: Ard Al-Mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey") is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), was promised and subsequently given by God to Abraham and his descendants, and in modern contexts an image and idea related both to the restored Homeland for the Jewish people and to salvation and liberation is more generally understood.
The promise was first made to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), then confirmed to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and then to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13), Abraham's grandson. The promised land was described in terms of the territory from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Exodus 23:31). A smaller area of former Canaanite land and land east of the Jordan River was conquered and occupied by their descendants, the Israelites, after Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt (Numbers 34:1-12), and this occupation was interpreted as God's fulfillment of the promise (Deuteronomy 1:8). Moses anticipated that God might subsequently give the Israelites land reflecting the boundaries of God's original promise, if they were obedient to the covenant (Deuteronomy 19:8-9).
The concept of the Promised Land is the central tenet of Zionism, whose discourse suggests that modern Jews descend from the Israelites and Maccabees through whom they inherit the right to re-establish their "national homeland". Palestinians also claim partial descent from the Israelites and Maccabees, as well as all the other peoples who have lived in the region.[1]
The imagery of the "Promised Land" was invoked in Negro spirituals as heaven or paradise and as an escape from slavery, often which can only be reached by death. The imagery and term have also been used in popular culture (see Promised Land (disambiguation)), sermons and in speeches, such as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968) speech by Martin Luther King, Jr:
Divine promise
The promise that is the basis of the term is contained in several verses of Genesis in the Torah. In Genesis 12:1 it is said:
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you."
and in Genesis 12:7:
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [or seed] I will give this land."
Commentators have noted several problems with this promise and related ones:
  1. It is to Abram's descendants that the land will (in the future tense) be given, not to Abram directly nor there and then. However, in Genesis 15:7 it is said: He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." However, how this verse relates to the promises is a matter of controversy.
  2. There is nothing in the promise to indicate God intended it be applied to Abraham’s physical descendants unconditionally, exclusively (to nobody but these descendants), exhaustively (to all of them) or in perpetuity.[2]
  3. Jewish commentators drawing on Rashi's comments to the first verse in the Bible, assert that no human collective ever has any a priori claim to any piece of land on the planet, and that only God decides which group inhabits which land in any point in time. This interpretation has no contradictions since the idea that the Jewish people have a claim to ownership rights on the physical land is based on the idea of God deciding to give the land to the Jewish people and commanding them to occupy it as referred to in Biblical texts previously mentioned.
In Genesis 15:18-21 the boundary of the promised land is clarified in terms of the territory of various ancient peoples, as follows:
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites,Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
The verse is said to describe what are known as "borders of the Land" (Gevulot Ha-aretz).[3] In Jewish tradition, these borders define the maximum extent of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.[4]
The promise was confirmed to Jacob at Genesis 28:13, though the borders are still vague and is in terms of "the land on which you are lying". Other geographical borders are given in Exodus 23:31 which describes borders as marked by the Red Sea, the "Sea of the Philistines" i.e. the Mediterranean, and the "River," (the Euphrates).
The promise is fulfilled at the end of the Exodus from Egypt. Deuteronomy 1:8 says:
See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.
It took a long time before the Israelites could subdue the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. The furthest extent of the Land of Israel was achieved during the time of the united Kingdom of Israel under David.[5] [6] The actual land controlled by the Israelites has fluctuated considerably over time, and at times the land has been under the control of various empires. However, under Jewish tradition, even when it is not in Jewish occupation, the land has not lost its status as the Promised Land.
Descendants of Abraham
The concept is central to Zionism. In 1896, Herzl exhorted Jews to take up the movement, writing "for these have never lost the faith in the Promised Land".
Traditional Jewish interpretation, and that of most Christian commentators, define Abraham's descendants as Abraham's seed only through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, to the exclusion of Ishmael and Esau.[4] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12][13] [14] [15] [16] This may however reflect an eisegesis or reconstruction of primary verses based on the later biblical emphasis of Jacob's descendants. The promises given to Abraham happened prior to the birth of Isaac and were given to all his offspring signified through the rite of circumcision. Johann Friedrich Karl Keil is less clear, as he states that the covenant is through Isaac, but notes that Ishmael's descendants have held much of that land through time.[17]
Mainstream Jewish tradition regards the promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as having been given to all Jews, including proselytes and in turn their descendants,[18] with the traditional view being that a convert becomes a child of Abraham, as in the term "ben Avraham".
Christian interpretation
In the New Testament, the descent and promise is reinterpreted along religious lines.[19] In the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul the Apostle draws attention to the formulation of the promise, avoiding the term "seeds" in plural (meaning many people), choosing instead "seed," meaning one person, who, he understands to beJesus (and those united with him). For example, in Galatians 3:16 he notes:
"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ."
In Galatians 3:28-29 Paul goes further, noting that the expansion of the promise from singular to the plural is not based on genetic/physical association, but a spiritual/religious one:
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."[2]
In Romans 4:13 it is written:
"It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith."
Boundaries from the Book of Numbers
Boundaries of the 'Promised Land' given in the Book of Numbers (chapter 34)
The South border. —(v. 3) "Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward : (v. 4) And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin : and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon : (v. 5) And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea."
The Western border. —(v. 6) "And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border : this shall be your west border."
The North border. —(v. 7) "And this shall be your north border : from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor : (v. 8) From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath ; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad : (v 9) And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan : this shall be your north border."
The East border. —(v. 10) "And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham : (v. 11) And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain ; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward : (v. 12) And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea : this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about."[20]
Boundaries of the 'Promised Land' given by Jerome c.400
You may delineate the Promised Land of Moses from the Book of Numbers (ch. 34): as bounded on the south by the desert tract called Sina, between the Dead Sea and the city of Kadesh-barnea, [which is located with the Arabah to the east] and continues to the west, as far as the river of Egypt, that discharges into the open sea near the city of Rhinocolara; as bounded on the west by the sea along the coasts of Palestine, Phoenicia, Coele‑Syria, and Cilicia; as bounded on the north by the circle formed by the Taurus Mountains[21] and Zephyrium and extending to Hamath, called Epiphany‑Syria; as bounded on the east by the city of Antioch Hippos and Lake Kinneret, now called Tiberias, and then the Jordan River which discharges into the salt sea, now called the Dead Sea.[22] [23]
  • 1845: Salomon Munk, Palestine, Description Géographique, Historique et Archéologique," in "L'Univers Pittoresque ;
    Under the name Palestine, we comprehend the small country formerly inhabited by the Israelites, and which is today part of Acre and Damascus pachalics. It stretched between 31 and 33° N. latitude and between 32 and 35° degrees E. longitude, an area of about 1300 French: lieues carrées. Some zealous writers, to give the land of the Hebrews some political importance, have exaggerated the extent of Palestine; but we have an authority for us that one can not reject. St. Jerome, who had long traveled in this country, said in his letter to Dardanus (ep. 129) that the northern boundary to that of the southern, was a distance of 160 Roman miles, which is about 55French: lieues. He paid homage to the truth despite his fears, as he said himself, of availing the Promised Land to pagan mockery, "Pudet dicere latitudinem terrae repromissionis, ne ethnicis occasionem blasphemandi dedisse uideamur".[24] [25]
See also
References
  1. "(With reference to Palestinians in Ottoman times) Although proud of their Arabheritage and ancestry, the Palestinians considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the seventh century but also from indigenous peoples who had lived in the country since time immemorial, including the ancient Hebrews and the Canaanites before them. Acutely aware of the distinctiveness of Palestinian history, the Palestinians saw themselves as the heirs of its rich associations." Walid Khalidi, 1984, Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876–1948. Institute for Palestine Studies
  2. Sizer, Stephen (2007). Zion's Christian Soldiers? The Bible, Israel and the Church.
  3. Kol Torah, vol. 13, no. 9, Torah Academy of Bergen County, Nov 8, 2003
  4. See 6th and 7th portion commentaries by Rashi
  5. Stuart, Douglas K., Exodus, B&H Publishing Group, 2006, p. 549
  6. Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Walter A. Elwell, Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2001, p. 984
  7. "Edersheim Bible History - Bk. 1, Ch. 10". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. "Edersheim Bible History - Bk. 1, Ch. 13". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  9. "Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible - Genesis 15". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  10. "Genesis 15 Commentary - John Gill's Exposition on the Whole Bible". StudyLight.org. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  11. Parshah In-Depth - Lech-Lecha
  12. Doe, John. "Where the World Comes to Study the Bible". Bible.org. Retrieved2016-03-13.
  13. "Methodists and Roman Catholics". Third Millennium Ministries. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  14. "The Promises to Isaac and Ishmael". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  15. "GOD CALLS ABRAM ABRAHAM". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  16. "Nigeriaworld Feature Article - The Abrahamic Covenant: Its scope and significance - A commentary on Dr. Malcolm Fabiyi’s essay". Retrieved 13 March2016.
  17. Biblical commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, Carl Friedrich Keil, Franz Delitzsch, p. 224
  18. "Conversion to Judaism Resource Center". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  19. Burge, Gary M (2014). "The New Testament and the land". In Paul S Rowe, John H.A. Dyck, Jens Zimmermann. Christians and the Middle East Conflict. Routledge. ISBN 9781317801115. Thus if you were a child of Abraham by race you inevitably were heir to the great land promises in the Holy Land ... Paul challenges the exclusivity of racial descent from Abraham. Children of Abraham consist of people - Jews and Gentiles - who share Abraham's faith. And the promise of God, he notes, comes to Abraham and his seed (singular) and this seed is Christ (Gal. 3:16). Thus Christ is the true heir of Abraham and his promises. And if we belong to Christ, we too are attached to Abraham and the promises given to him. Again, for the non-Jewish Christian, it is hard to imagine the impact of this theological subversion. Paul has upended one of the chief arguments for exclusive Jewish privilege in the Holy Land ... If you want a glimpse of just how striking Paul's rethinking of this could be, just look at Romans 4:13. Here Paul refers directly to the inheritance of Abraham. This was the gift of Canaan, the Holy Land and Israel! And yet look at what Paul actually says: the promise to Abraham was that he would inherit the entire world. How can that be? This is not in Genesis. But it can be true in only one way: the family of Abraham now includes the Gentiles - Gentiles living throughout the world: Romans, Greeks, Cappadocians, Arabs - and they now, inasmuch as they belong to Christ, also belong to Abraham. God's new claim is not for the restoration of Judaea. It is not for a political rebuilding of the Holy Land. God's new claim is for the entire world; His people in Christ will be instruments of that claim.
  20. Henry P. Linton (1884). Notes on the book of Numbers. pp. 169–170. Image ofp. 170 at Google Books
  21. Bechard, Dean Philip (1 January 2000). Paul Outside the Walls: A Study of Luke's Socio-geographical Universalism in Acts 14:8-20. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-88-7653-143-9. In the Second Temple period, when Jewish authors were seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical definition of the Land, it became customary to construe “Mount Hor” of Num 34:7 as a reference to the Amanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain (Bechard 2000, p. 205, note 98.)
  22. Sainte Bible expliquée et commentée, contenant le texte de la Vulgate. Bibl. Ecclésiastique. 1837. p. 41. Quod si objeceris terram repromissionis dici, quae in Numerorum volumine continetur (Cap. 34), a meridie maris Salinarum per Sina et Cades-Barne, usque ad torrentem Aegypti, qui juxta Rhinocoruram mari magno influit; et ab occidente ipsum mare, quod Palaestinae, Phoenici, Syriae Coeles, Ciliciaeque pertenditur; ab aquilone Taurum montem et Zephyrium usque Emath, quae appellatur Epiphania Syriae; ad orientem vero per Antiochiam et lacum Cenereth, quae nunc Tiberias appellatur, et Jordanem, qui mari influit Salinarum, quod nunc Mortuum dicitur; (Image of p. 41 at Google Books)
  23. Hieronymus (1910). "Epistola CXXIX Ad Dardanum de Terra promissionis (al. 129; scripta circa annum 414ce)". Epistularum Pars III —Epistulae 121-154, p. 171 (The fifty-sixth volume of Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum also known as the Vienna Corpus: Letters Part 3, Containing letters 121-154 of St. Jerome.) Image of p. 171 at Archive.org
  24. Munk, Salomon (1845). Palestine: Description géographique, historique et archéologique (in French). F. Didot. pp. 2–3. Sous le nom de Palestine, nous comprenons le petit pays habité autrefois par les Israélites, et qui aujourd'hui fait partie des pachalics d'Acre et de Damas. Il s'étendait entre le 31 et 33° degré latitude N. et entre le 32 et 35° degré longitude E., sur une superficie d'environ 1300 lieues carrées. Quelques écrivains jaloux de donner au pays des Hébreux une certaine importance politique, ont exagéré l'étendue de la Palestine; mais nous avons pour nous une autorité que l'on ne saurait récuser. Saint Jérôme, qui avait longtemps voyagé dans cette contrée, dit dans sa lettre à Dardanus (ep. 129) que de la limite du nord jusqu'à celle du midi il n'y avait qu'une distance de 160 milles romains, ce qui fait environ 55 lieues. Il rend cet hommage à la vérité bien qu'il craigne, comme il le dit lui-même de livrer par la terre promise aux sarcasmes païens. (Pudet dicere latitudinem terrae repromissionis, ne ethnicis occasionem blasphemandi dedisse uideamur)
  25. Munk, Salomon; Levy, Moritz A. (1871). Palästina: geographische, historische und archäologische Beschreibung dieses Landes und kurze Geschichte seiner hebräischen und jüdischen Bewohner (in German). Leiner. p. 1. Image of p. 1 at Google Books
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)