Key House committee replaces ‘West Bank’ with ‘Judea & Samaria’

Republican effort to have the historical terminology ‘Judea and Samaria’ replace the 20th-century term ‘West Bank’ gains momentum, with critical House committee instructing staffers to make the change.

By World Israel News Staff

A key committee in the House of Representatives has taken a step towards changing the terminology used to describe the territories occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967 before being captured by Israeli forces during the Six Day War.

According to a report by Axios Wednesday night, the chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee has instructed all Republican staffers working with the committee to use the term “Judea and Samaria” in place of the term “West Bank.”

Florida Republican Brian Mast, chairman of the committee, issued the instructions Tuesday, according to a memo obtained by Axios.

“In recognition of our unbreakable bond with Israel and the inherent right of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland,” Mast wrote,  “the House Foreign Affairs committee will, from here forward, refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria in formal correspondence, communication and documentation.

“As representatives of the American people, we must do our part to stem this reprehensible tide of antisemitism and recognize Israel’s rightful claim to the cradle of Jewish civilization.”

While the move only impacts the roughly 50 Republican staffers on the committee and does not compel staffers for Democratic lawmakers on the committee, it marks the first step in a larger effort by the GOP in Congress to shift from the use of the Jordanian term “West Bank,” to the biblical names of the two areas, Judea and Samaria, included in the territory.

After capturing Judea and Samaria during the 1948-1949 Israeli War of Independence, Jordan annexed the territory in 1950, renaming the combined territories as Cisjordan or, alternatively, the West Bank, in contrast to the rest of the Hashemite kingdom, located on the east bank of the Jordan River.

House and Senate Republicans, in recent years, have pushed legislative measures to formally replace the term “West Bank” with “Judea and Samaria” in all federal documents.

With Trump’s election last November, New York Rep. Claudia Tenney and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton resumed their efforts to pass legislation altering the terminology used by the federal government.