According to the bill, now signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, state agencies must refer to the northeastern region of Israel as Judea and Samaria. Those terms are preferred rather than West Bank, a more modern but controversial definition that recognizes the region’s political and cultural conflict.
In an interview with AFN, bill author Rep. Mindy McAlindon says Judea and Samaria is the “proper name” for the region rather than West Bank.
“When we refer to it that way, we are feeding into a narrative that discounts the Israelis,” she says.
The ancient regions of Judea and Samaria, called Yehudah and Shomron in Hebrew, have been recognized by Jews for thousands of years as their hilly homeland surrounding Jerusalem. After the death of King Solomon, in approximately 931 B.C., what was once one kingdom ruled by Kind David split into a Northern Kingdom and a Southern Kingdom.
Only in more modern times, not quite 80 years ago, has the region been called the West Bank. That was when Jordan won it in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli War, nicknaming it “The Bank” in reference to the banks of the Jordan River. Israel defeated Jordan, and won it back, in 1967 during the Six-Day War.
Gov. Sanders’ father, Mike Huckabee, is the current U.S. ambassador to Israel. The former Arkansas governor, a frequent visitor to Israel for decades, has publicly stated his opposition to the term “West Bank” for many years.
When the region is mentioned in the news media, Rep. McAlindon says, not only is it referred to as the West Bank but often as the “occupied West Bank.” That description is a political one and an inflammatory one, too, she says, because it suggests the Jews who live in the region are occupying someone else’s land as if it’s stolen property.
“And they can't occupy a land that they own,” she says.
McAlindon tells AFN she has heard from state legislators in other states who like her bill and are “pretty excited” to introduce a similar bill in their legislature.
A similar bill has been introduced in Congress by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) that would require the U.S. government to drop “West Bank” and recognize Judea and Samaria instead.
