Why is the land of Israel sacred to the Jews?

Answer 1

The land of Israel is sacred to the Jews because it was promised to them by God, and because some of the commands in the Torah can only be fulfilled in Israel.

• Genesis 12:7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto your seed I will give this land.'
  
• Genesis 13:14-17 And the Lord said unto Abram... 'Lift up your eyes, and look...northward and southward and eastward and westward. All the land which you see, to you I will give it, and to your seed forever...Arise, walk through the land..for unto you I will give it.'
  
• Genesis 15:7 and 18 And He said unto him: 'I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur,...to give you this land to inherit it'....On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto your seed I have given this land'...
  
• Genesis 17:8,18,19 And I will give unto you (Abraham), and to your seed after you...all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. ...And Abraham said unto God: 'would that Ishmael might live in Your presence!' And God said: 'No; Sarah shall bear you a son; and you shall name him Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.'
  
• Genesis 21:2,3,12 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son...And Abraham...named his son Isaac....And God said unto Abraham...'through Isaac shall it be called your seed.'
  
• Genesis 26:1-3 And Isaac went unto Abimelech...And the Lord appeared to him, and said...'Sojourn in this land...unto your seed I will give all these lands.'
  
• In Genesis ch.25: Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau. In Genesis 28:13,14: And, behold, the Lord stood beside him (Jacob), and said: 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your (grand)father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are laying, to you I will give it, and to your seed...and you shall spread to the west, east, north, and south.'
• Genesis 35:9-12 And God appeared unto Jacob...and He called his name Israel...And God said unto him...'the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your seed.'
  
• Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brothers (in Egypt): 'I am dying; but God will surely remember you, and bring you...unto the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'
  
• Exodus 3:7,8 And the Lord said (to Moses): 'I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and ... I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land...unto the place of the Canaanites'...
  
• Exodus 6:6-8 Say unto the children of Israel: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians...And I will bring you in to the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an inheritance.'
  
• Numbers 33:51-54 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say....'unto you I have given the land to possess it; and you shall inherit the land'...
  
• Deuteronomy 1:6-8 The Lord our God spoke unto us in Horeb (Sinai), saying....'Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.'
  

See also:Facts about Israel (and the links at the end of the Answer)

The conflict over Israel (and the links there too)

What a Muslim scholar says

Answer 2

The land of Israel is sacred to the Jews because it was promised to them by God, and because some of the commands in the Torah can only be fulfilled in Israel.

• Genesis 12:7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto your seed I will give this land.'
  
• Genesis 13:14-17 And the Lord said unto Abram... 'Lift up your eyes, and look...northward and southward and eastward and westward. All the land which you see, to you I will give it, and to your seed forever...Arise, walk through the land..for unto you I will give it.'
  
• Genesis 15:7 and 18 And He said unto him: 'I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur,...to give you this land to inherit it'....On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto your seed I have given this land'...
  
• Genesis 17:8,18,19 And I will give unto you (Abraham), and to your seed after you...all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. ...And Abraham said unto God: 'would that Ishmael might live in Your presence!' And God said: 'No; Sarah shall bear you a son; and you shall name him Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.'
  
• Genesis 21:2,3,12 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son...And Abraham...named his son Isaac....And God said unto Abraham...'through Isaac shall it be called your seed.'
  
• Genesis 26:1-3 And Isaac went unto Abimelech...And the Lord appeared to him, and said...'Sojourn in this land...unto your seed I will give all these lands.'
  
• In Genesis ch.25: Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau. In Genesis 28:13,14: And, behold, the Lord stood beside him (Jacob), and said: 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your (grand)father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are laying, to you I will give it, and to your seed...and you shall spread to the west, east, north, and south.'
• Genesis 35:9-12 And God appeared unto Jacob...and He called his name Israel...And God said unto him...'the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your seed.'
  
• Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brothers (in Egypt): 'I am dying; but God will surely remember you, and bring you...unto the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'
  
• Exodus 3:7,8 And the Lord said (to Moses): 'I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and ... I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land...unto the place of the Canaanites'...
  
• Exodus 6:6-8 Say unto the children of Israel: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians...And I will bring you in to the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an inheritance.'
  
• Numbers 33:51-54 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say....'unto you I have given the land to possess it; and you shall inherit the land'...
  
• Deuteronomy 1:6-8 The Lord our God spoke unto us in Horeb (Sinai), saying....'Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.'
  

See also:Facts about Israel (and the links at the end of the Answer)

The conflict over Israel (and the links there too)

What a Muslim scholar says