U.S. Representative Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, instructed committee staff on Feb. 25 to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria in “all formal correspondence, communication and documentation.”
“Jewish roots in this region span centuries and we must recognize that fact in both word and deed,” he wrote.
Given efforts to dehumanize Jews throughout the world, even prior to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, “We must do our part to stem this reprehensible tide of antisemitism and recognize Israel’s rightful claim to the cradle of Jewish civilization,” Mast added.
The directive is the latest in a series of initiatives by pro-Israel, conservative congressmen who have expressed support for changing the terminology and extending Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed area.
Jewish roots in Judea and Samaria span centuries and we recognize that fact in both word and deed. https://t.co/4GwuI1gYrX
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) February 27, 2025
A key figure in the effort, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), said in a Jan. 31 statement, “I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
Tenney, who launched a congressional Friends of Judea and Samaria caucus on Jan. 15, said that a 2019 visit to Israel inspired her to take legislative action.
In February, she and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced bills requiring “all official U.S. documents and materials to use the historically accurate term ‘Judea and Samaria’ instead of the ‘West Bank.’”
Tenney, announcing her bill, said, “The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria.”
Cotton said, “The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.”
In Israel, a similar law is making its way through the legislative process. Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism Party introduced a Knesset bill to replace the term “West Bank” with “Judea and Samaria” in Israeli government documents.
Rothman told JNS: “Semantics are important because through incorrect terminology, the lie wins. You have to describe reality correctly and tell the truth, and this is the first step to correcting the reality.”
“Judea and Samaria” is an ancient term. Judea derives from the name of the Kingdom of Judah, founded in 934 B.C.E., the source of the term “Jews.”
“Samaria” comes from the ancient city of Samaria, capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel, an independent realm made up of the Hebrew tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh and Ephraim. Now known as the 10 Lost Tribes, they were taken into captivity by Assyria around 720 BCE.
“West Bank,” although more common in modern parlance, has a recent provenance, having been coined by Jordan, which controlled the area for a short time (1948-1967), in an attempt to erase the area’s historic Jewish connection.
