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The idea of creating a state for Jews in various countries around the world has been explored at different points in history by individuals and groups within the Jewish diaspora. These proposals generally emerged from a desire to escape persecution, discrimination, or anti-Semitism, and they often reflect the diversity of opinions within the Jewish community regarding the best location for a Jewish homeland.
The world map below presents a selection of ten territories. According to this map published by Joseph Hepler, “Any one of them can be sold or assigned by the land- holding Powers to the Jews. On any one of these, or on similar territories elsewhere, the Jews can establish an independent,sovereign, democratic Jewish Nation and a Jewish State of their own.”
According to the map, proposals to establish Jewish national states are:
BIROBIDJAN: Jewish Autonomous Region in Far East on Amur River, 250 miles from Pacific near Vladivostok & Komsomolsk; area 20.000 sq.mi. Nearest approach to Jewish political independence today. Augmented by Soviet & Manchurian land to 50.000 sq.miles. Rich virgin region. Agriculture, coal, timber, gold. Potential industrial & trade center.
The Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR) is an autonomous oblast in the Russian Far East, established in 1934. However, the JAR never attracted a significant Jewish population, and its status as a Jewish homeland remained largely symbolic. The Jewish Autonomous Region still exists to this day. Today, it has a diverse population and does not function as a predominantly Jewish territory as originally envisioned. Nevertheless, street names in settlements in this region of Russia are still written in Russian and Yiddish.
AUSTRALIA: Section of Eastern Inland Lowlands and of Murray River Basin. Gateway to East Indies tie India. Rich soil & grazing. Ample rain. Artesian water. Good all year climate. Can absorb 5 million settlers without, 10 million with irrigation. ALTERNATE: Kimberley, west of Northern Territory. Huge, empty, tropical. Ample rains. Good soil. Potential industrial and trade center for India and China.
ALASKA: Section of Kenai Peninsula and of So. Central Alaska on both sides of Cook Inlet. Largely uninhabited & wasted. Fair climate. West Kenai plateau is good for farming & grazing. Coal, minerals, timber, game. Fur, sheep, cattle country. Potential wood industry & wood pulp center for Asia export. Good accessibility for tourism.Need for pioneering.
CANADA: Area west of Aklavik ii lower Mackenzie River valley & small segment of north Alaska. Air & sea outpost astride Arctic Circle. Tough pioneering country. 24-hour sunlight in summer; long, dark, cold winter. Rich, jungle-like plant & vegetable life, huge animal herds, giant timber. Uninhabited. ALTERMATE: Peace River Blook, landlocked in Br.Columbia. Pleasant, livable, empty. Rich soil. Many natural resources.
SOUTH AMERICA: West & south section of British Guiana, plus a small section of the Sierra Pacaraima region in Venezuela, plus a segment of Brazil’s Catinga River borderland. Part jungle, uninhabited but habitable, with an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Extensive deposits cf mica, manganese, beauxite, gold, diamonds. Much timber. Copra, sugar, rice.
BRAZIL: A section of the Matto Grosso region north of Parana River, bordering on Paraguay. Landlocked, unexplored, unexploited, barely inhabited. Tough, dangerous but habitable jungle country. Rich in resources. Rubber, gold, diamonds. Potential industrial empire. Could neutralize large Japaness & German colonies entrenched toward coast.
CYRENAICA:Part west of Egypt,south to Tr. of Cancer. Mediterranean outlet at EsSollum & Tobruk. Colonized by Jews under Romans,offered to Jews by Turkey in 1907. Poor in soil & resources,but habitable & sparsely populated. Temperate climate, adequate rain,spring water, fertile coast region to 80 miles inland. Barren desert in the south can be developed to industrial,strategic and communication importance.
EAST CENTRAL AFRICA: Composite sections of Kenya, Uganda, Italian Somaliland & Sudan. Bordering on Ethiopia.Astride Equator. Offeredty Britain to Jews for an independent state in 1898. Climate like South California. Outlet to Indian Ocean. Unexploited, empty. Vast plains, rivers, lakes. Ample water. Healthiest African region for whites. Wild game, cattle, sheep, skins. Rubber, cotton, resins. Trade and tourism.
SOUTH EAST AFRICA: Composite sections of Tanganyika (former German colony), Mozambique, Nyasaland, North Rhodesia, and a strip of Belgian Congo. Opposite Madagascar. Empty, virgin territory. Temperate climate. Can grow grain, tobacco, citrus fruits, nut trees, cotton and coffee. Has coal, chrome, asbestos, gold, big game and ivory. Coastal trade.
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Composite section of China’s Sinkiang, Soviet Union (Turkestan), Tibet & India. Located between Kashgar, Samarkand and Peshawar, on Tarim River. Promising as a cultural, industrial, trade A communications bridge between the new China & the European east.
Despite these various proposals, the Zionist movement coalesced around the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel. The Holocaust and the widespread persecution of Jews during World War II further underscored the need for a permanent and secure homeland for Jewish people, which found its realization in the Middle East with the creation of Israel in 1948.
You can learn more about the Jewish people and the state of Israel from the following sources:
