What is the 'Greater Israel' project?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A vision long embedded in Israeli politics is coming into clearer view. We look at the "Greater Israel" project – where it comes from, how it has shaped Israeli policy and territorial ambitions over time, and what it helps explain about Israel’s actions across the region.
In this episode:
- Nour Odeh (@nour_odeh), Al Jazeera Correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker and Chloe K. Li, with Tuleen Barakat, Catherine Nouhan, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Rick Rush mixed this episode. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Spencer Cline, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Chloe K. Li, Alexandra Locke, Catherine Nouhan, Alex Roldan, and Noor Wazwaz. Our host is Malika Bilal.
Our editorial intern is Tuleen Barakat. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, why the Greater Israel Project is getting harder to ignore. |
| 0:16.0 | Israel has, right now, a golden opportunity as its leaders view it. Those who believe in greater Israel |
| 0:24.5 | believe that it is now or never. What once sounded like a fringe idea is now being voiced |
| 0:31.5 | more openly by Israeli leaders and showing up more clearly on the ground. What does a greater Israel actually look like? |
| 0:41.0 | I'm Kevin Hurtain, and this is the take. |
| 0:48.7 | My name is Noor O'Day. |
| 0:52.5 | I am in Ramallah, and I report for Al Jazeera. |
| 0:57.6 | I've been doing that for some time now, and I've covered the Palestine-Israel story for a very long time. |
| 1:05.3 | I won't tell you how long. |
| 1:06.8 | Welcome back to the take, Noor. |
| 1:08.5 | That's why we have you on, and we're hoping to mind some of that wisdom. |
| 1:12.0 | You've been on this show many times. We've talked many times and we've touched on this topic before, but this feels like a moment to tackle it head on. |
| 1:20.6 | As we watch Israel escalate on many, many fronts in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, and now obviously Iran. |
| 1:28.9 | Certainly many in the region are viewing all of this through the lens of the Greater Israel |
| 1:33.5 | Project. |
| 1:34.3 | So let's start there. |
| 1:35.5 | In the simplest possible terms, what is the Greater Israel Project? |
| 1:39.8 | The Greater Israel Project is a vision, an ideology, that views Israel's right borders as being between |
| 1:48.9 | the Euphrates and Nile rivers, meaning taking up much of the Middle East. This is not a fringe |
| 1:56.8 | ideology, so to speak. This is the ideology of those who are in power right now in Israel. And it is |
| 2:04.6 | something that you're seeing more and more mainstreamed in Israeli politics to the point where |
... |
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