A. Landa, 1914, Jewish Settlements in Eretz Israel
Fun fact: Before they settled on the more neutral “State of Israel” they batted around several other names, including the biblically-charged “Land of Israel” (Eretz Israel)
Well, I’d say “Yisrael” and “Eretz Yisrael” are pretty much the same. Simon Rawidowicz, a Hebrew scholar, sent a letter to Ben-Gurion upon the state’s creation asking him not to call it Israel, because Israel refers to all Jews no matter their location. So actually, maybe Eretz Yisrael is less controversial.
They considered other names as well: Zion, Country of the Jews (sounds better in Hebrew; or maybe I can’t translate “Medina” properly), Judea, and Cactus (“Tzabar”, which refers to native-born Israelis).
(via savage-america)
