A delegation of senior U.S. state lawmakers visited the Binyamin region in Judea and Samaria on Tuesday, where they toured Ancient Shiloh and Psagot Winery.
The delegation, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement nonprofit, included legislators from Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Yisrael Ganz, governor of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, spoke to the lawmakers about the security issues the region faces as well as economic development.
Ganz thanked the lawmakers for coming to “see the reality firsthand” and the nonprofit for organizing the delegation.
“Judea and Samaria are the security belt of the State of Israel,” he stated. “Anyone who visits here quickly understands that this is not only the biblical heartland of our nation, but also a strategic asset that is vital to Israel’s security.”
Eliana Passentin, the council’s international desk director, also spoke to the lawmakers about the Jewish people’s history in Israel and the region’s development.
Candice Pierucci, the Utah House Majority Whip, stated that she was impressed at “the resilience, determination and faith of the people here, values that we need more of in the United States.”
“Rather than relying solely on what they read in the news, I encourage people to come to Israel and see the reality with their own eyes,” she said.
