In 135 A.D., following the suppression of the revolt by the Maccabees, the Roman overlords of what was then called Judaea decided to change its name to “Syria Palaestina” — “Syria of the Philistines” — which was then shortened to “Palestine.” The Romans wanted to efface, through a change of toponym, the connection of the Jews to the land that was made obvious in the place name “Judaea.” They also attempted to change the name “Jerusalem” to “Aelia Capitolina” but, unlike “Palestine,” that place name never caught on.
During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the Arab Legion of Jordan — led by British officers under John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) — managed to seize and hold onto the territory that had been known, for more than 3,000 years, not just to the Jewish people but to everyone in the Western world, as “Judea and Samaria.” It would never do, the Jordanian Arabs believed, to continue to use the toponyms “Judea and Samaria,” which would remind people of who had inhabited that territory for millennia. So, like the Romans with their toponymic change — “Judaea” becoming “Palestine” — nearly 1800 years before, the Jordanians, after a year of reflection (the war officially ended in 1949), in 1950 decided to replace “Judea and Samaria” with the place name “West Bank.” It is a most peculiar appellation. After all, the riparian zone along a river is usually envisioned as of a uniform width, but the Jordanians’ “West Bank” is shaped like an ear. The Jordanians, and their fellow Arabs, by dint of repetition, made sure that “West Bank” was used so often, came more trippingly off the tongue than “Judea and Samaria” (it helped that people were uncertain whether “Judea and Samaria” were two distinct places, inked by a conjunction, or constituted one territory) and stuck so well in the popular mind, that it pushed “Judea and Samaria” out of common usage, save by the Israelis themselves. Even non-Israeli Jews now use the term “West Bank.”
People outside of Israel, including orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians, who persisted in using “Judea and Samaria,” found that “West Bank” had become so widely adopted that it was they who experienced a certain self-consciousness about using “Judea and Samaria.” “West Bank” is now used everywhere; it is up to us to undo that offense to history. When the Western media reports on Israelis, especially on those much-maligned “settlers,” they are often described as “using the Biblical terms Judea and Samaria,” as if that made such usage illegitimate. In other words, the fact that these place names had been used for three millennia by Jews and the rest of the Western world was not a point in their favor, but rather, was held against them. Amusing, isn’t it, that those people who would dismiss the use of “Judea and Samaria” because they are Biblical names have no objection to using the toponym “Gaza,” which is also a place name found in the Bible.
Now Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York have introduced a bill requiring the U.S. government to drop that preposterous “West Bank,” and to use the venerable, correct, imbued with history, place names “Judea and Samaria.” It’s an important bill; if it passes, it will put back into general circulation, by government fiat, “Judea and Samaria.” If every time a government official, from Trump and Rubio on down, gives a press conference, or holds a Congressional hearing, uses the terms “Judea and Samaria,” it will be an important victory, with the world being reminded that this territory has for more than three millennia been linked to the Jewish people; it was in Judea and Samaria, not in Haifa and Tel Aviv, where their history was made.
More about the legislation introduced Tom Cotton when he announced his resolution can be found here.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act, legislation to require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the historically accurate term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank”. This bill would require the use of historically accurate terminology and align U.S. policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region. This legislation was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-New York).
“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,” said Senator Cotton.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
To some this will seem a minor matter. “Words, words, words,” as Hamlet said to Polonius. It is not. It is important to escort back into common usage the words, including place names, that the Arabs have managed to push aside and replaced with others that diminish or efface altogether, the Jewish link to the land. Senator Cotton and Congresswoman Tenney deserve the gratitude of all those who care about history and the truth.
Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”
The bill making this change of place-name mandatory throughout the American government has now been introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY). It can be found here.
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”
The bill introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY) can be found here. https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/west_bank.pdf
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SEC.1 SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
2 It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government—
(1) should refer to the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War by its historical names of ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’, with the land south of Jerusalem being considered ‘‘Judea’’
and the land north of Jerusalem being considered ‘Samaria’’; and
(2) should no longer use the term ‘‘West Bank” in official government materials.
2. SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MATERIALS THAT USE THE TERM ‘‘WEST BANK’’.
3. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available after the date of the enactment of this Act may be obligated or expended to prepare or promulgate any policy, guidance, regulation, in this section if the Secretary—determines that is in the interests of the United States to do so; and
(2) submits to Congress an explanation for the waiver not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary makes the determination.
- SEC. 4. CONFORMING CHANGES TO UNITED STATES LAW. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—The For- Assistance Act of 1961 is amended as follows:
(1) In section 620K(f)(3) (22 U.S.C. 2378b(f)(3)), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(2) In section 620L (22 U.S.C. 2378c)—
(A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(b) TAYLOR FORCE ACT.—Section 1004 of the Tay- lor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c–1) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(c) MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS PAR- TICIPATION RESOLUTION.—Section 2 of the Multinational Force and Observers Participation Resolution (22 U.S.C. 3421) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(d) OMNIBUS DIPLOMATIC SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISM ACT OF 1986.—Section 414 of the Om- nibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4862) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(e) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AREA IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 1985.—Section 9 of the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–47; 19 U.S.C. 2112 note) is amend-ed by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(f) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007.—Section 2021(i) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(g) FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FIS-CAL YEAR 2003.—Section 699 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 228; 22 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(h) NITA M. LOWEY MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE ACT.—Section 8005 of the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (division K of Public Law 116–260) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
Got it? STRIKE “West Bank” and INSERT “Judea and Samaria.”
O where? Here, there, and everywhere.
AUTHOR
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