Though it never actually appears as a setting in the novel per se, the "promised land" is a major factor throughout the book - or at least throughout Deronda's section therein. It's the place Mordecai waxes about and where Mirah and Deronda were set to travel too(and where they presumably still ended up after the novel's close). Part of what made and still makes this particular Elliot novel so controversial mainly revolves around the treatment of Jewishness in the book as a whole - first because mainstream Victorian society had a longstanding history of antisemitism that to an extent persists today. It was more or less exspected for the heavily protestant(anglican) or Roman Catholic population to look down on their Jewish peers.
The other point of controversy is the prevalence of pre-zionism throughout the book - Zionism, being the belief that all people of jewish descent should return to Israel. It's a belief many jewish people hold true to and which led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, after the end of world war two. It's also the reason for the liberal immigration policy granted only to Jews.
“Antisemitism in Britain.” The Orwell Foundation, 28 May 2019, www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-….
“Zionism and Israel.” The Pluralism Project, pluralism.org/zionism-and-israel.
“Israel Is a Non-Democratic Apartheid Regime, Says Rights Group.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 12 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/12/israel-is-a-non-democratic-aparth….