I also like "the Holy land" as a less political name for that region.
It's out of fashion and perhaps identified with Christianity, and some people think I'm being tongue-in-cheek or gently trolling by using it. But IMO it's neutral and unambiguous: that's a part of the world that is sacred to all the major religions of the Western hemisphere, while not being tied to any particular set of boundaries.
It's out of fashion and perhaps identified with Christianity, and some people think I'm being tongue-in-cheek or gently trolling by using it. But IMO it's neutral and unambiguous: that's a part of the world that is sacred to all the major religions of the Western hemisphere, while not being tied to any particular set of boundaries.