At a time when the Jewish right to their homeland is broadly questioned by mainstream media, and international entities like the ICC and the UN have bought into a false narrative that “Zionist” is synonymous with “colonizer,” it is hard to imagine a world that recognizes the truth of Israel’s history. But did you know that in 1976, Chaim Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, succeeded in having Avraham's purchase of the Cave of Machpelah entered into a UN brief? It was the first time in history that any international entity recognised the Torah’s legal veracity in determining land ownership.
Throughout Avraham’s lifetime, G-d reiterates His promise of inheriting the Land of Israel. Ramban (also known as Nachmanides, scholar and biblical commentator Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270) explains why it is repeated so often:
Now the Holy One, blessed be He, promised Avraham the gift of the land many times, and all of the promises served a purpose. When he initially arrived in the Land, He said to him, “Unto your seed I will give this land” (Bereishit 12:7), but G-d did not clarify the extent of His gift. Afterward, when his merits increased while in the Land, He bestowed upon him the added promise: “Lift now your eyes, and look northward, southward, eastward, and westward” (Bereishit 13:14), meaning that He will give him all those lands in their totality. The third time, G-d clarified the boundaries of the land to him, mentioning that it included the territories of all the ten nations presently inhabiting it. And later, on a fourth occasion when He commanded him concerning circumcision, He told him, “For a possession forever” (Bereishit 17:8), that is to say that even if they are exiled from it, they will again return and inherit it.
