Greater Israel: Territory or Theology? Biblical Roots

The term “Greater Israel” refers to a Zionist vision promoted by extremists, calling for the conquest of Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, in addition to the Sinai Peninsula, Syria’s Golan Heights, and Jordan. Even more alarming, some versions of “Greater Israel” extend to include Lebanon and other parts of Syria and Egypt, as well as parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Political Leaders Who Advocate for Greater Israel

Bezalel Smotrich, the Zionist finance minister, and a key partner in the governing coalition, has previously promoted the idea of “Greater Israel.”

Last year, in an interview conducted for a documentary film, Smotrich stated that he believes Israel should expand to include Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

Middle East Eye quoted him as saying: “The future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus.”

This was what Smotrich promoted before October 7, 2023. In a speech delivered in Paris in March 2023, he displayed a map of “Greater Israel” that included Palestine within its borders, stating: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian people.”

The concept of “Greater Israel,” stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates, is often linked to biblical texts.

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The Book of Genesis speaks of God’s covenant with Abraham, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”

The Book of Deuteronomy declares to the Israelites: “Every place where you set your foot will be yours.”
The Book of Exodus offers a more detailed description, outlining the borders as “from the Sea of Reeds (the Red Sea) to the Sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea) and from the desert to the Euphrates River.”

Zionist Leaders Who Shaped the Greater Israel Vision

In reality, senior Zionist leaders align themselves with the biblical vision of the so-called Greater Israel and do not hide these ambitions, expressing them in their writings, interviews, and literature.

·       Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, agreed in his 1898 diaries to a proposal by his colleague Max Bodenheimer to establish a Jewish state extending “from the Valley of Egypt to the Euphrates,” calling it “excellent.”

·       In his 1896 book The Jewish State, Herzl envisioned a state with northern borders on the mountains facing Cappadocia (in modern-day Turkey) and southern borders on the Suez Canal.

·       Rabbi Fischmann, a member of the Jewish Agency for Palestine who helped draft Israel’s Declaration of Independence, stated to the United Nations Special Committee of Inquiry in 1947 that “The Promised Land extends from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates, and includes parts of Syria and Lebanon.”

·       Zeev Jabotinsky, the developer of Revisionist Zionism in the 1920s, called for a “Greater Israel” that would encompass all of Mandatory Palestine, including both banks of the Jordan River, as well as parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt.

·       After the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, Begin, a disciple of Jabotinsky, said: “Israel has been established, but the homeland has not been fully liberated,” a clear reference to his belief in the “Greater Israel” project, which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates.

·       Meir Kahane, the extremist nationalist Knesset member, called for a theocratic Jewish state that would include large parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

·       Although David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, adopted a more pragmatic and flexible approach toward borders, he stated in 1937 that “The partial Jewish state is not the end, but only the beginning.”

These ambitions are not hidden by Zionist leaders—there is no difference between extremist and moderate among them. They do not conceal their intentions to achieve this biblical goal through rivers of blood and ethnic cleansing.

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