Eretz Yisrael (Hebrew, Meaning "Land of Israel")

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ERETZ YISRAEL (Hebrew, meaning "land of Israel")

Expression used to designate the land of Israel, as it was promised by God to the Jewish people, according to Biblical tradition. Geographically this territory corresponds to the Kingdom of Solomon, which extended from Dan, north of Tiberias, to Beersheba in the south. After the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948, this notion of a "Greater Israel" became the central theme of the political program of Israeli nationalist extremist movements. To them, Eretz Yisrael stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean.