US states eye switch from ‘West Bank’ to ‘Judea & Samaria’

Eight US states push legislation to mandate the use of the historical name “Judea and Samaria” in place of the “West Bank.” Settlement leader touts move as “historical justice.”

By World Israel News Staff

Eight American states are moving forward with bills mandating state agencies refer to territory occupied by Jordan from 1948 through 1967 by its historic and biblical name, highlighting Jewish ties to the area.

According to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth, state legislatures in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah are poised to pass legislation requiring that all official state documents referencing the territory west of the Jordan River but east of the 1949 Armistice Line (the Green Line) be referred to as Judea and Samaria, rather than as the “West Bank.”

Captured by the Arab Legion in 1948 and occupied until 1967 by Jordan, the territory roughly matches the borders of the regions known in the Bible as Judea—representing much of what was once the holdings of the Tribe of Judah—and Samaria, the heartland of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, which split from the southern Jewish kingdom and established its capital in the city of Samaria.

In 1950, however, the Kingdom of Jordan annexed the territory captured in the 1948-49 war, renaming it the “West Bank.”

The terminology of the territory has become politically charged, with Israel retaining the historical name, Judea and Samaria, while most countries have over the years adopted the term “West Bank.”

Supporters of Israel’s settlement enterprise have pushed for a return to the historical terminology, which highlights Jewish ties to the area.

Use of “Judea and Samaria” has gained support on the American Right, with activists at the American Conservative Union’s annual gathering, CPAC, voting in February to endorse a motion endorsing Israeli sovereignty over the area, referring to the “biblical heartland” as “Judea and Samaria.”

Later that month, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee instructed Republican staffers working with the committee to use the term “Judea and Samaria” in place of the term “West Bank.”

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.

Yossi Dagan, chairman of the Samaria Regional Council, hailed the decision by legislators from eight US states to refer to the area as Judea and Samaria as a “revolution.”

“This is nothing less than a revolution. Our goal is to advance this law because it is historical justice. Our mission is to continue this and bring sovereignty to Judea and Samaria,” Dagan said.