Greater Israel
Encyclopedia
Greater Israel is a controversial expression with several different Biblical and political meanings over time.
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
. Other earlier definitions, favored by Revisionist Zionism
, included the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine (with or without Transjordan
, which developed independently after 1923). Other religious uses refer to one of the Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel
found in , or .
is used.
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. 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:
Yitzhak Shamir
was a dedicated proponent of Greater Israel and as Israeli Prime Minister gave the settler movement
funding and Israeli governmental legitimisation.
Annexation of the Palestinian territories (the West Bank
and Gaza Strip
) is part of the platform of the Israeli Likud
party, and of some other Israeli political parties. 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".
The same territory, "from the river to the sea", is also claimed as Palestine
by the PLO and Hamas
.
Hillel Weiss
, a professor at Bar-Ilan University
, "preaches" the necessity of rebuilding the Temple and of Jewish rule over Greater Israel. Rabbi Meir Kahane, assassinated Jewish leader and Knesset
Member who founded the American Jewish Defense League
and the Israeli Kach
party worked towards this and other Religious Zionist
goals.
(defined in ) or to the Land of Israel
, and is also called Complete Land of Israel or "Entire Land of Israel" . 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 , is vague. It describes a large territory, "from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel
, the Palestinian Territories
, and Lebanon
, as well as large parts of Syria
, Jordan
, and Egypt
. The proportion of current Iraq
, Saudi Arabia
, and Turkey
included in this territory is debatable.
The other two definitions are found in and and describe a smaller territory (see the map included in this article).
, 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 brandished by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
in 1988 as evidence for this accusation. The Bank of Israel denies this claim and maintains the coin is a replica of historical coin dating from 37-40 BCE.
Early Revisionist Zionist groups such as Betar
and Irgun Zvai-Leumi
regarded as Greater Israel the territory of the Mandate of Palestine including Transjordan.
Currently, the most common definition of the land encompassed by the term is the territory of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
together with the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
. Other earlier definitions, favored by Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
, included the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine (with or without Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
, which developed independently after 1923). Other religious uses refer to one of the Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
found in , or .
State of Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip
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 territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine. However, because of the controversial nature of the term, the term Land of IsraelLand of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
is used.
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
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
party, sought Eretz Yisrael Ha-Shlema -- Greater Israel, or literally, the Whole Land of Israel. 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
Movement for Greater Israel
The Movement for Greater Israel was a political organisation in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s which subscribed to an ideology of Greater Israel....
and the construction of Israeli settlements. The 1977 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1977
The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...
, which brought Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
to power also had considerable impact on acceptance and rejection of the term. Greenberg notes:
THE seed was sown in 1977, when Menachem BeginMenachem Begin' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
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 BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza StripGaza Stripthumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. 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 into a binational state instead of a Jewish one.
Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
was a dedicated proponent of Greater Israel and as Israeli Prime Minister gave the settler movement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
funding and Israeli governmental legitimisation.
Annexation of the Palestinian territories (the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
) is part of the platform of the Israeli Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
party, and of some other Israeli political parties. On September 14, 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
remarked that "Greater Israel is over. There is no such thing. Anyone who talks that way is deluding themselves".
The same territory, "from the river to the sea", is also claimed as Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
by the PLO and Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
.
Hillel Weiss
Hillel Weiss
Hillel Weiss is a professor of literature at Bar Ilan University in Israel.-Academic career:Hillel Weiss is a tenured professor at the Joseph & Norman Berman Department of Literature of the Jewish People, Faculty of Jewish Studies, Bar-llan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel...
, a professor at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, "preaches" the necessity of rebuilding the Temple and of Jewish rule over Greater Israel. Rabbi Meir Kahane, assassinated Jewish leader and Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Member who founded the American Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
and the Israeli Kach
Kach and Kahane Chai
Kach was a far-right political party in Israel. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s, and following his Jewish nationalist ideology , the party entered the Knesset in 1984 after several electoral failures...
party worked towards this and other Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
goals.
Promised Land
Greater Israel occasionally refers to the Promised LandPromised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
(defined in ) or to the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, and is also called Complete Land of Israel or "Entire Land of Israel" . 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
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. The first, found in , is vague. It describes a large territory, "from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the Palestinian Territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, as well as large parts of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The proportion of current Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
included in this territory is debatable.
The other two definitions are found in and and describe a smaller territory (see the map included in this article).
10 Agorot coin controversy
ZionistsZionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, and the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, have been accused of plotting to expand Israel from the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
to the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. This so-called 10 Agorot controversy
10 Agorot controversy
The ten agorot controversy was a conspiracy theory in 1988 in which Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat claimed that the obverse design of an Israeli coin worth ten agorot showed a map of "Greater Israel" that represented Zionist expansionist goals.The Bank of Israel ...
is named after the Israeli coin brandished by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
in 1988 as evidence for this accusation. The Bank of Israel denies this claim and maintains the coin is a replica of historical coin dating from 37-40 BCE.
British Mandate of Palestine
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
and Irgun Zvai-Leumi
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
regarded as Greater Israel the territory of the Mandate of Palestine including Transjordan.
See also
- Land of IsraelLand of IsraelThe Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
- CanaanCanaanCanaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
- 10 Agorot controversy10 Agorot controversyThe ten agorot controversy was a conspiracy theory in 1988 in which Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat claimed that the obverse design of an Israeli coin worth ten agorot showed a map of "Greater Israel" that represented Zionist expansionist goals.The Bank of Israel ...
- The East Bank of the JordanThe East Bank of the JordanThe East of the Jordan is a poem written by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the Revisionist Zionist leader, a song that became one of the most known leading national anthems of the Revisionist Zionist youth movement, Betar. The song includes four Stanzas...
(also known as "Two Banks has the Jordan"), a poem by Ze'ev Jabotinsky that became the slogan and one of the most famous songs of BetarBetarThe Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
External links
- For The Land and The Lord: The Range of Disagreement within Jewish Fundamentalism, by Ian LustickIan LustickIan Steven Lustick is an American political scientist and specialist on the modern history and politics of the Middle East.Lustick completed his Ph.D...
, chapter V and chapter VII (accessed 12 October 2005) - A collection of maps of Eretz Israel HaShlema (Greater Israel), from GlobalSecurity.org.