What Does The Land of Milk and Honey Consist of Today?

 Nadene Goldfoot

   Nadene Goldfoot

      "good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..."1 Honey here (and elsewhere in the Scriptures) is generally understood to be a reference to fruit nectar, specifically date honey—not bees' honey. (Chabad)                                                                      

                     I'd say that Israel is the land of falafels today.    

                                    

The original Jewish Homeland of Israel was to be 17,500 sq miles of which 45% is in Transjordan.  The entire area was occupied by the Israelites under David and Solomon (Kings 5:4).   The West Bank has an area of 5,628 square kilometres (2,173 sq mi), which comprises 21.2% of former Mandatory Palestine (excluding Jordan) and has generally rugged mountainous terrain. The total length of the land boundaries of the region are 404 kilometres (251 miles).

Israel's area is approximately 20,770 km² (8,019 sq mi), which includes 445 km² (172 sq mi) of inland water. 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).

Israel lost almost 80% of what was promised to them in 1922 to Abdullah of Saudi Arabia by the decision of Britain who held the 30 year mandate.  What was left for the Jewish Promised Land was mostly a desert land.  Israel lives on the edge of the desert.  A large part of Israel is the Negev which is mostly desert.  Jerusalem is on the threshold of the Judaean Desert. More than 60 percent of Israel is desert. Negev, the largest desert in Israel, sits in the southern region of the country; it's home to the Ramon crater.  Its main city is Be’er Sheva. Here, the Old City is home to the Negev Museum of Art, with contemporary Israeli and international exhibitions. Nearby is Abraham’s Well, a cultural center with interactive exhibits about the story of Abraham. East of the city, Tel Be’er Sheva is a prehistoric settlement mound with ruins, plus a lookout tower with desert views.                                                                              

         2nd Giveaway:  Israel has lost more land to the Palestinians.  Israel was left with a sliver.  

The Negev's northern part is a prairie and the southern is mountainous.  

The Sinai Desert has throughout history been the region separating the Land of Israel from the Land of Egypt.  

                                                                  

            Tel Aviv: founded in 1909-Jews exiled during WWI by the Turks

                 Grew under British Mandate.  Population in 1990 was 317,800.  

                Iraq shot scud missiles at Tel Aviv during Gulf War in 1991.  

  Tel Aviv has been called The World's Vegan Food Capital, as it possesses the highest per capita population of vegans in the world, with many vegan eateries throughout the city. Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students.

The Coastal Plain and its eastward incursion is the Valley of Jezreel.      

                                                                

The Mountains rise to above 1,000 meters (3,300 feet).  Safed and Jerusalem are about at the same heights on top of their mountain.  In the north is the Galilee. Mt. Meron near Safed is 3,692  feet high;  Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.

Mt Canaan near Safed is 3,149 feet high  and Mt Herzl in Jerusalem is 2,741 feet high.  The lowest is Mt Gilboa in the Jezreel Valley of 1,631 feet high.  

In the center is Judea and Samaria, called the West Bank by Jordan.  

The Jordan Rift Valley contains the Jordan River which links 2 internal seas;  Lake Kinneret of 665 feet, and 220 meters below sea level--and---the Dead Sea which is the lowest place in the world.  It is 392 meters, 1,286 feet below sea level.    

The Arava Valley stretches between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea.  

Israel has 4 rivers:  Jordan  of 157 miles, Yarkon of 16 miles, Kishon of 8 miles and Yarmuk of 5.5 miles.                                         

Modern Israel hasn't had permanent boundaries.  Until 1967, its boundaries consisted of temporary armistice lines, agreed upon in 1949, the year after its birthday.  Since 1967 and pending a peace settlement, cease-fire lines demarcate the area under Israeli control.  The cease-fire lines are 842 km (523 miles) long, compared with the armistice lines which were 951 km (570 miles) long.  Most of the urban regions of Israel are  less than 2 hours from the nearest cease-fire lines.  Before 1967, the armistice lines bisected Jerusalem and were 20 minutes away from Tel Aviv.     East Jerusalem was reunified in June 1967 with West Jerusalem.  It's one city, the capital of Israel as it always has been since King David (1010 BCE-970 BCE).                    

Israel has 3 different climates to dress for:

1. Coastal plain:  has mild winter with rainfall mostly between November and March.

2. Mountains: Safed-Cool to Cold winter with rainfall mostly between November and March.  Occasionally there is snow.  Summers are hot and dry  with cool evenings.  School had no heat, so I taught in my coat, never taking it off.  

3. Desert and Jordan Rift Valley:  It has mild winter with rain in the northern part of the Valley, and is cool at night with hot summers.  Jerusalem temperature goes from 48-59 F to 66-82.  That's nice because they are situated in the Judean Hills. 

                                                        

     Above in blue is Area C -Israeli Controlled land.                                            The Jordan Valley in orange, to be annexed. This is the            section of Judea-Samaria allocated to Israel by the Oslo Accords.  
 

The Jordan Valley found in Judea-Samaria was almost annexed by Israel officially but the peace with 2 countries stopped it from happening as peace came first and foremost.  The Valley is Israel's farmland.  

• Agriculture is the leading economic sector in the Jordan Valley, due to its unique climate. The strong sun radiation and below average rainfall encourages fruits and vegetables to grow with relatively low infestation, resulting in high quality crops.
• Agricultural production in the Jordan Valley, cultivated over an area of about 33,000 dunams, is valued at about 500 million Shekels annually. It is a major producer of dates, table grapes, peppers, herbs and spices, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, citrus fruit, pomegranates and more.

Judea and Samaria  (West Bank)

The Judea and Samaria Area covers a portion of the territory designated by the ancient names Judea and Samaria. Samaria corresponds to part of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, also known as the Northern Kingdom.    Judea corresponds to part of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, also known as the Southern Kingdom. The terminology was also noted by the UN in the 1947 partition plan, when it stated “the boundary of the hill country of Samaria and Judea starts on the Jordan River..  "

This is the heartland of ancient Israel.  It's the land of the 12 tribes of Jacob.  The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had to fight all the Arab nations that reached them in 1967 and Israel miracuously won against all the massed Arab armies.  This had been until 1948 part of the British Mandate of Palestine.  Between 1948 and 1967 it was ruled by Jordan, which annexed it in 1950.  That's because Abdullah of Saudi Arabia wanted land and Britain gave it to him.  By winning, Israel gained this area from Jordan. This was a miracle of all miracle because Israel did not start this war.  The Arabs had fought against them in: 

1. War of Independence: 29 November1947-1949.

2. Sinai War-29 October-5 -November 1956

3. Six Day War-5 to 11 June 1967

4. War of Attrition-1968-7-8 August 1970

5. Yom Kippur War-1973 

Israel has been the winner each time but never started the  wars.  They have had to always fight defensively.  

 By July 1972, 640,600 Arabs lived in this area of 5,900 sq.km-2,270 sq mi.

Thereof, 2,155,743 Arabs live in the West Bank,  and 391,000 Jews live in the West Bank. Approximately 214,600 Jews live in East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem, once administered by Jordan, came under Israeli occupation after the 1967 Six-Day War. 

 The total population of the West Bank surpasses 3.2 million. The last census taken in 2007 shows that the Palestinian Arab population is 2,345,000. ... The primary religion throughout the West Bank is Muslim, with up to 85% practicing this religion.  The total population of all Jewish towns in the West Bank was nearly 400,000 in 2014, excluding East Jerusalem.

Resource:

Updated 10/13/20 

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/624194/jewish/Why-is-Israel-called-the-land-of-Milk-and-Honey.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_and_Samaria_Area

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_a_Jewish_state

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_statistics_for_Israeli_settlements_in_the_West_Bank

facts about israel, Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia