Authoritarian Israel | "Greater Israel" ideology gains ground

Daniella Weiss stands with a reporter from the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" on a hill in rural Kedumim and points in different directions. Her fingers point beyond the borders of the illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank and point to two rivers that are not visible from there. They are more than 1,000 kilometers apart. Daniella Weiss wants the land that lies in between. "I want the Promised Land from the Bible for the Jewish people. From the Euphrates to the Nile. I am sure that will happen." What will happen to southern Lebanon then , the reporter asks in the video report, which was released in 2019. "It's part of it, everything! Even parts of Syria, Iraq, and Iran. It's huge!" What, even six years after the interview, still sounds like the insane illusions of isolated fanatics is now openly advocated by government ministers with whom Weiss has excellent connections.

She is a leading figure in the Israeli "settler movement" and founder of the radical settler organization Nachala – inheritance or hereditary property in German. The name underscores the biblically based claim: The land is promised by God, it belonged to us then, and it belongs to us today. The organization has been working for almost 20 years toward the annexation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to establish the "Promised Land." It is a lobby group for religious fanatics who are striving for a "Greater Israel." This is an ideology that – depending on its biblical origins – is based on territorial claims for Israel of varying sizes. Exclusively for the Jewish people. But how influential can people be who still speak of ancient holy lands as political reality today? What danger can arise from an ideology whose followers want to see biblical promises from God fulfilled? Iran demonstrates that religiously based fascism has been able to maintain itself in a large country for almost five decades . In the US, Donald Trump's presidency was made possible, not least by influential evangelical hardliners who have been working for decades to establish a Christian theocracy. And in Israel, the "Greater Israel" ideology is gaining ground. The influence of organizations like Nachala is growing.

What must not happen: Unjust state Israel

In Germany, which historically has primarily experienced biologically motivated fascism, this ideology seems to be perceived as less threatening, if it is even known at all. This is exemplified by a lecture given by journalist Charlotte Wiedemann at Leuphana University in Lüneburg in January 2025, where she spoke about the growing influence of right-wing extremist movements and politicians in Israel and highlighted the fundamentalist religious influence in politics. However, as a German, it would break her heart to call this state fascist. As if what cannot be could not be: that the Jewish homeland established in Palestine after the Shoah could develop into a state governed by injustice. In doing so, she highlighted the very processes of fascism: the unequal legal system for Israelis and Palestinians, settler extremism in the West Bank , the genocidal language of military and political leaders toward the people of Gaza, and the work of researchers who see the danger of emerging clerical fascism. Based on their reactions, many of the listeners—including professors—seemed to be unfamiliar with much of this. One participant even asked why Arab states should feel threatened by a Greater Israel, completely unaware of the geopolitical explosiveness of this ideology.

Is there a discrepancy in Germany between the perception of Israel and the reality that has developed there in recent years? The authoritarian restructuring of the state has been taking place for many years under Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalitions: In 2018, the Nation-State Law, which had been in preparation since 2011, was passed. It revoked Arabic's status as an official language, enshrined the exclusively Jewish character of the state, and stipulated that the right to national self-determination applies only to the Jewish people. In 2023, a law was passed that makes the removal of the prime minister almost impossible. This is important for Netanyahu, against whom corruption proceedings are pending. Then came the judicial reform , which would have made it possible to override judicial decisions by a simple parliamentary majority. This would have amounted to the end of the separation of powers. However, this, at least for the time being, was stopped by the Supreme Court. And finally, the current cabinet has ministerial posts held by people who openly want to pursue a policy of territorial expansion – based on biblical grounds.

Various, but not all, representatives of political Zionism have advocated this idea of ​​a "Greater Israel" since the 19th century. Depending on biblical interpretation or real-political circumstances, different models and demands were formulated. After the founding of the State of Israel, its supporters had varying degrees of influence on politics. Herut, the predecessor party of today's Likud, was virtually the only relevant party to represent this stance until 1967. The ideology gained momentum in politics and society during the Six-Day War, when East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights, and the West Bank came under Israeli control – still illegally occupied under international law. The Likud bloc also promised in the late 1970s that there would be only one Israeli state between the sea and the Jordan River.

In the 1980s, proponents of such Israeli expansionist policies were still boycotted by the political establishment. This included, for example, the radical Kach Party. At the same time, however, settlement activity had taken place under all Israeli governments in the territories claimed by these forces – in the Golan Heights, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Egyptian Sinai.

Terrorists as ministers

Today, these radical religious fanatics are no longer boycotted by the political establishment; they are themselves boycotting them: The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, was a member of the aforementioned Kach party, which was banned in the 1990s and classified as a terrorist organization. The far-right party propagated "Greater Israel" and carried out attacks against Palestinians. Ben Gvir himself was convicted in 2007 of racist incitement and supporting a terrorist organization. As recently as 2021, he threatened Palestinians with a gun. Shortly thereafter, as head of the border police in the West Bank, he became an active part of the occupation regime and lives there himself in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba.

The fact that Nachala's goals are no longer isolated radical demands is demonstrated by its connections to the highest government circles. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party hosts joint events with the organization, at which coalition ministers regularly speak – including Ben Gvir, who called for the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip at a settler conference in October 2024 in the immediate vicinity of the Gaza Strip. "We tell them: 'We give you the opportunity to leave the country and go to other countries. Eretz Yisrael Shelanu – This is our land of Israel!'" A battle cry of the Israeli right, which in this context is often used as a synonym for "Greater Israel." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also participated there repeatedly and declared that Gaza is "part of the Land of Israel." The military victory there, according to Smotrich, must be achieved in order to "settle Gaza." For him, this is not just a mere war aim. Settlement is part of larger ambitions. Also in October, he spoke to the broadcaster Arte and, when asked whether Israel would expand beyond its current borders, stated: "Absolutely. Little by little. Our old religious leaders say that the future of Jerusalem lies in expanding all the way to Damascus." Smotrich advocates a maximum vision of "Greater Israel," which would stretch from the Palestinian territories, through Jordan, Lebanon, to Syria, and include parts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

It is about nothing less than the complete reorganization of the so-called Middle East

As a member of the government, he has already brought himself two steps closer to achieving this goal: First, he persuaded Netanyahu to transfer civilian responsibility for the West Bank to him. He heads a new agency, linked to the Ministry of Defense, to which the military last year transferred far-reaching legal powers to control the West Bank. This makes Smotrich the de facto governor, effectively completing the annexation of the occupied territory, according to NGOs and international law experts. Second, he likely used his power to disrupt the government coalition with his resignation during the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza: He claimed that Netanyahu had promised to occupy Gaza. This is likely the reason why he remains in the government and did not follow Ben Gvir's request to leave with him.

With people like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, the danger of striving for "Greater Israel" has become a dangerous reality. Benjamin Netanyahu himself has also worked over the past 20 years to make a Palestinian state impossible. Between the "river" and the "sea," there should only be the State of Israel. "Greater Israel" is an ideology that has gained influence in politics and society over decades, thus influencing the current warfare that has cost tens of thousands of lives. It is about nothing less than the complete reorganization of the so-called Middle East.