Greater Israel: the territorial dream that collides with demographic reality
With only 7 million Jews in Israel, the plan for a Greater Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates is demographically unviable. Oil does not solve it.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Greater Israel does not fit within its 7 million inhabitants
The dream of a "Greater Israel" stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates runs up against an immovable fact: the Jewish population in Israel barely reaches 7 million people, compared with Spain's 48 million – a country of much smaller size. Worldwide there are some 16 million Jews, most of them in Israel and the United States. With those figures, occupying and controlling a territory that would include parts of Syria, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia is a demographic chimera.
But the argument is not only numerical. Those who defend the project's economic viability point to energy resources: the claimed territories would hold between 150 and 200 million barrels of oil, plus control of key trade routes between Asia and Europe. With such wealth, they argue, a small population could live in luxury without working.
The internal problem is not minor. Jewish society is divided between communities of Eastern and European origin, with tensions that make any territorial expansion difficult. Historical precedents do not help either: Israel already returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1982, a move that contradicts expansionist logic.
In the medium term, the dream of Greater Israel will remain just that: a dream. Without massive demographic growth – which is nowhere in sight – and with an international community that would not accept a unilateral annexation, the project collides with reality. The question is not whether it is desirable, but whether it is even possible.
The dream of a "Greater Israel" stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates runs up against an immovable fact: the Jewish population in Israel barely reaches 7 million people, compared with Spain's 48 million – a country of much smaller size. Worldwide there are some 16 million Jews, most of them in Israel and the United States. With those figures, occupying and controlling a territory that would include parts of Syria, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia is a demographic chimera.
But the argument is not only numerical. Those who defend the project's economic viability point to energy resources: the claimed territories would hold between 150 and 200 million barrels of oil, plus control of key trade routes between Asia and Europe. With such wealth, they argue, a small population could live in luxury without working.
The internal problem is not minor. Jewish society is divided between communities of Eastern and European origin, with tensions that make any territorial expansion difficult. Historical precedents do not help either: Israel already returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1982, a move that contradicts expansionist logic.
In the medium term, the dream of Greater Israel will remain just that: a dream. Without massive demographic growth – which is nowhere in sight – and with an international community that would not accept a unilateral annexation, the project collides with reality. The question is not whether it is desirable, but whether it is even possible.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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