The Jewish Homeland and the Jewish State: One In The Same and Why

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

      Israel and its neighbors

Zohran Mamdani, contender for NY City mayor,  wants to know what the Jewish Homeland is, and also what the Jewish State is,  so here's what they are all about:  

"According to Jewish tradition and sources, the Jewish homeland is the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel), encompassing the territory "historically"  known as Palestine, renamed to Palestine by the Romans after 135 CE in a 3 year battle with the Jewish general, Bar Kokhba.  They named it thus after Israel's worst  and longest enemy, the Philistines.  

                   The 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob) 3,500 years ago, documented in the Torah, our written history done by the Egyptian scribe and leader, Moses

 This land is considered sacred and central to Jewish identity, history, and religion. Jewish sources highlight a continuous historical and religious connection to this land, dating back thousands of years; at least 4,000 years."

The Land of Israel is central to Jewish belief in the Torah, written, as believed, by Moses himself, with the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) depicting God's promise of the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jewish history is deeply intertwined with the Land of Israel, with periods of self-rule and sovereignty, including the reigns of King David and King Solomon. 

Many Jewish laws and rituals are tied to the Land of Israel, and some religious authorities consider it a religious obligation for Jews to live there, according to JewFAQ. 

The Zionist movement, which emerged in the late 19th century, advocated for the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, fulfilling a long-held aspiration for self-determination and refuge. The Jewish aspiration to return to Zion, generally associated with divine redemption, has suffused Jewish religious thought since the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile

In the 1920s, the 30 year British Mandate for Palestine encompassed the territory that is now Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan. It was formally established in 1922 and came into effect in September 1923. The Mandate was a consequence of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and it incorporated the principles of the Balfour Declaration, which expressed support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. 

• Transjordan: In 1921, the British divided the Mandate region in two, with the area east of the Jordan River becoming the Emirate of Transjordan, governed separately by Abdullah bin Hussein under British supervision. The Jewish National Home provisions of the Mandate were not to apply to Transjordan.
• Jewish Land Acquisition: The Zionist movement actively pursued land purchases in Mandatory Palestine throughout the 1920s, primarily to establish Jewish settlements. A significant instance was the Sursock Purchase, where a large tract of land in the Jezreel Valley and Haifa Bay was acquired from absentee landlords.
• Mounting Tensions: The influx of Jewish immigrants and land purchases led to increasing tensions and conflicts with the Arab population. Arabs feared displacement and the loss of their land and rights. This period saw violent clashes and riots.  The worst happened when Samuels of Britain appointed Husseini as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and he, of course, did not want to lose his newly found authority, so got the Arabs to riot against the arrival of Jews.  They were bloody riots.  

Golda Meir announcing the creation of the Jewish State after waiting  2,000 years , 

The modern State of Israel, established in 1948, is widely considered by Jews worldwide as the fulfillment of this aspiration and a central place for Jewish identity and culture. While the Land of Israel is widely considered the Jewish homeland, there are diverse views within Judaism regarding the extent of its borders, the relationship with the Palestinian population, and the role of religious law in the modern state.   We have a Chief Rabbi who helps to decide such things as a government.  During the 1920s and 1930s, the Chief Rabbis of Mandatory Palestine were:Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi: Abraham Isaac haCohen Kook; 

Sephardi Chief Rabbi (also known as Rishon leZion): Yaacov Meir 

They both began their terms in 1921. Rabbi Kook served until 1935, and Rabbi Meir served until 1939.                             

The current Chief Rabbis of Israel are Rabbi David Yosef (Sephardic) and 

Rabbi Kalman Ber (Ashkenazi), who both began their terms in 2024. 

Israel is the only Jewish state in the world and holds about 9.757 million of which 20%

are not Jews but Arabs and others in 2023.  There are over 48  countries with more than

50 % Islamic religion, and according to various sources, approximately 15-22 countries have

 Christianity as their official state religion in various forms, such as Catholicism,

 Lutheranism, Anglicanism, or specific national branches.

The Jewish state today does not include all the land of its original state.  Judea and Samaria had been taken by Trans-Jordan, and renamed as The West Bank.  Since the Oslo Accords, the land was

divided into areas A,B, and C with C belonging to Israel, A belonging

to Palestinians and B to both.  

Israel also gave-free in the name of PEACE, Gaza.  Palestinians

use it as a platform from which to shoot at Israelis ever since.  There

has been NO PEACE for Israel ever since.  

Resource:

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