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Greater Israel is a controversial expression with several different meanings.

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
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined....
. Other definitions include the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine, either in the 1923 or 1948 borders. Others use the term to refer to one of the Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
 found in , or .

ently 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.






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Greater Israel is a controversial expression with several different meanings.

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
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined....
. Other definitions include the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine, either in the 1923 or 1948 borders. Others use the term to refer to one of the Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
 found in , or .

State of Israel with annexation of Palestinian territories

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 Israel
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
 is used.

Annexation of the Palestinian territories (the West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
 and Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north....
) is part of the platform of the Israeli Likud
Likud

Likud is the major center-right List of political parties in Israel in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin, largely as the "direct ideological descendant" of the Herut, in an alliance with several other right-wing and liberal parties....
 party, and of other Israeli political parties. On September 14, 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert is the incumbent Prime Minister of Israel. Olmert was the Mayor of Jerusalem of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 he was elected to the Knesset and became a minister and Deputy leaders of Israel#Acting Prime Minister in the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon....
 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 name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is derived from a name used already much earlier for a narrower geographical region, mainly along the coastal region....
 by the PLO and Hamas
Hamas

Hamas is an Islamic Palestine socio-political organization which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Since June 2007, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip portion of the Palestinian Territories....
.

Hillel Weiss
Hillel Weiss

Hillel Weiss is a professor of literature at Bar Ilan University in Israel....
, a professor at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan, 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 legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem....
 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.Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, JDL's self-described purpose was to protect Jews from harassment in Brooklyn, and to protest against local manifestations of antisemitism....
 and the Israeli Kach
Kach and Kahane Chai

Kach was a far right List of political parties in Israel in Israel. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s, and following his Kahanism ideology, the party entered the Knesset in 1984 after several electoral failures....
 party worked towards this and other Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism

Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement is an ideology that combines Zionism and religious Judaism, basing Zionism on the principles of Torah, Talmud et al and authentic heritage....
 goals.

The Promised Land


Greater Israel occasionally refers to the Promised Land
Promised land

The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites. The promise is made to Abraham and the descendants of his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, Abraham's grandson, as they are all given promises that their descendants will be given a territory from the River of Egypt to t...
 (defined in ) or to the Land of Israel
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
, and is also called Complete Land of Israel or "Entire Land of Israel" (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
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
. The first, found in , is vague. It describes a large territory, "from the Nile to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, the Palestinian Territories
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined....
, and Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, as well as large parts of Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, and Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. 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 Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
, and Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
 included in this territory is debatable.

The other two definitions are found in and and describe a smaller territory.

10 Agorot coin controversy

Some Arab nationalists accuse Zionists of plotting to expand the state of Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 from the Nile
Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the List of rivers by length in the world.The Nile has two major tributary, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and silt, but the former being the longer of the two....
 to the Euphrates
Euphrates

The Euphrates is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia which flows from Anatolia....
. This so-called 10 Agorot controversy
10 Agorot controversy

The design of the Israeli 10 Israeli agora coin was briefly a subject of controversy. In a press conference called by Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat in Geneva, in December 13, 1988, he claimed that the obverse design of this coin incorporates a map of a "Greater Israel" that "goes from the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia,...
 is named after the Israeli coin brandished by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his Kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian people leader....
 in 1988 as evidence for this accusation.

Mandatory Palestine

In the past, early Zionist groups such as Betar
Betar

The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. Betar members played important roles in the fight against the British during the Mandate, and in the creation of Israel....
 and Irgun Zvai-Leumi
Irgun

Irgun was a militant Zionism group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was established as a militant offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah ....
 regarded as Greater Israel the pre-1923 Mandatory Palestine.

See also

  • Land of Israel
    Land of Israel

    For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
  • Canaan
    Canaan

    Canaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt....
  • Israel
    Israel

    Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
  • 10 Agorot controversy
    10 Agorot controversy

    The design of the Israeli 10 Israeli agora coin was briefly a subject of controversy. In a press conference called by Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat in Geneva, in December 13, 1988, he claimed that the obverse design of this coin incorporates a map of a "Greater Israel" that "goes from the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia,...


External links

  • For The Land and The Lord: The Range of Disagreement within Jewish Fundamentalism, by Ian Lustick
    Ian Lustick

    Ian Steven Lustick is an American Political science and specialist on the modern history and politics of the Middle East.Lustick completed his Ph.D....
    , and (accessed 12 October, 2005)
  • A collection of maps of Eretz Israel HaShlema (Greater Israel), from .