What if the Jewish homeland was formed in Sinai instead of Israel?

I am dubious of this. The modern pro-Jewish pro-Zionist thread in US culture is VERY new. And the Evangelicals who back Israel because the Jews returning to their homeland is prophesied to happen before the return of the Messiah would be opponents of an Israel-in-Arizona.



Which rather raises the question, whose calculations were correct on the water requirements? The Egyptian government or Stephens?

Either way, this Israel will be VERY dependant on Egypt. OTL, dependence on Egypt for water is one of the reasons why Israel felt it unreasonable to retain Sinai. And how far can Israel develop with complete dependence on the Nile (for which they'd be 3rd in priority for after the Egyptian people and the Suez canal)?

In practical terms, Israel would have a smaller population and would either be effectively a vassal of Egypt or Egypt would effectively be a vassal of Israel.

fasquardon

If I had to guess, any mass influx of Jews to Sinai would result in many middle-class urban Jews opting to move to Suez, Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria. Maybe Sinai could work as a Zionist autonomy of Egypt.

Wadi el-Arish has occasional flash floods. Given time, water preservation infrastructure could perhaps be established by the Zionists. There'd likely be a lot of work put in to make the settlement less Nile-dependent over time via the damning of flash-flood basins and the establishment of sinking wells.

Availability of groundwater and aquifers.

Groundwater-potentiality-map-of-Sinai-39.png
aquifers.jpg
 
If I had to guess, any mass influx of Jews to Sinai would result in many middle-class urban Jews opting to move to Suez, Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria. Maybe Sinai could work as a Zionist autonomy of Egypt.

A Jewish majority in Port Said could get interesting...

And if there was less Arab-Israeli conflict in TTL, just how far could desalination be pushed?

fasquardon
 
If I had to guess, any mass influx of Jews to Sinai would result in many middle-class urban Jews opting to move to Suez, Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria. Maybe Sinai could work as a Zionist autonomy of Egypt.

Wadi el-Arish has occasional flash floods. Given time, water preservation infrastructure could perhaps be established by the Zionists. There'd likely be a lot of work put in to make the settlement less Nile-dependent over time via the damning of flash-flood basins and the establishment of sinking wells.

Availability of groundwater and aquifers.

Groundwater-potentiality-map-of-Sinai-39.png
aquifers.jpg
Maybe they plant a green belt there. Millions of trees to make the climate more tolerable.
 
Maybe they plant a green belt there. Millions of trees to make the climate more tolerable.

What is a tree that requires relatively little water, would do a good job capturing water, and be beneficial for the soil?

I know that in many mountainous areas, eucalyptus trees have been brought in to help with soil erosion.
 
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