Rothman proposes bill to change all mentions of ‘West Bank’ in Israeli Law to ‘Judea and Samaria’

MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) proposed a bill on Monday, so that in all Israeli legislation, the term “West Bank” – the area to the West of the Jordan River captured from Jordan during the Six Day War (1967) – will be replaced with the region’s biblical name, “Judea and Samaria.”

According to the bill’s preamble, “Judea and Samaria are inseparable parts of the historic homeland of the Jewish people. The most seminal events in our history occurred in these areas, where our forefathers, prophets, sages, and kings established their capital and kingdoms. In contrast, the term ‘West Bank,’ which originated during a period of foreign rule, reflects a colonialist perspective that disregards the deep historical connection of the Jewish people to its land.”

The preamble adds that the bill “seeks to regulate the use of the term ‘Judea and Samaria’ in Israeli legislation, replacing other terms that refer to the same geographic area. This change aligns with the broader trend of strengthening Israel’s connection to the region and preserving the historical rights of the Jewish people.”

Copying the US

The proposal came days after Senator Tom Cotton (R- Arkansas) made a similar proposal in the US Senate, which would require all official US documents and materials to use the term “Judea and Samaria” instead of “the West Bank.”

“Replacing the term ‘West Bank’ with ‘Judea and Samaria’ will reflect the legislature’s recognition of the Jewish people’s historical right to the land and correct a historical distortion,” Rothman said. “We must avoid using language that serves the enemy and creates a false narrative. Therefore, the significance of this change is immense.

“I also congratulate Sen. Tom Cotton, who has worked for this important historical accuracy in the United States – and on this occasion, I call on other countries to follow suit. Am Yisrael Chai! The people of Israel live – in Judea and Samaria as well.”

The name of the area in question is a point of contention both internationally and within Israel, and it is called different names in differing institutions. UN documents and resolutions call the area Occupied Palestinian Territory, or OPT for short; and, in addition to “West Bank” and “Judea and Samaria,” in many pieces of Israeli legislation it is referred to simply as “the area.”

According to High Court rulings, the area’s status in question is still that of a “belligerent occupation,” whereby the military commander of the area, in this case the IDF’s OC Central Command, serves as the sovereign. Agreements reached in the 1990s, known as the Oslo Accords, formed the Palestinian Authority, and split the area into three parts – Area A, under Palestinian military and civilian control; Area B, under Israeli military and Palestinian civilian control; and Area C, under full Israeli control.