Make Judea and Samaria part of Israel again - opinion

With the outbreak of antisemitic and anti-Zionist protests throughout the world over the past year, the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free!” has been repeated ad nauseam. This chant calls for the annihilation of the State of Israel and the eviction of the Jewish people – to be replaced by a Palestinian state. The chant is founded on the incorrect belief that the Jewish people have no connection, neither historic nor legal, to the Land of Israel.

Many people maintain that the Jewish people have a connection to the Land of Israel, deserve a state of their own and that the Jewish state should be on the historic land of Israel.

At the same time, they accuse the State of Israel of being an occupying force that has illegally taken control of the West Bank, the region historically known as Judea and Samaria. This region was the seat of the Jewish kingdoms, the location of 90% of the cities mentioned in the Bible, and the heartland of the Jewish homeland.

In 1947, the United Nations voted and approved the Partition Plan for Palestine. This unjust compromise gave half of the Land of Israel to local Arabs, many of whom had no historical connection to the land they had immigrated to in recent years. Judea and Samaria were designated to be part of an independent Arab state.

Instead of fulfilling the plan, Jordan illegally occupied the land and renamed the region “the West Bank.” In 1967, Jordan foolishly attacked a stronger and more courageous Israeli army and lost the region to Israel in the Six Day War. Since 1967, Israel has been in control of the region and has encouraged its citizens to move to the region, but has not merged Judea and Samaria into part of the State of Israel. 

Calling for annexation

Over the past 55 years, there have been varying calls, some from activists and some from politicians, to bring Judea and Samaria into the State of Israel and make it officially a region of the State of Israel.

This extension of Israel’s borders would mirror Israel’s extension of its sovereignty over the Golan Heights in the early 1980s. The Golan Heights was also won by Israel during the Six Day War. The overwhelming majority of the world, except for Israel and the United States, does not recognize Israel’s right to the Golan Heights, considering it a part of Syria and Israel an occupying power. 

With the election of Donald Trump, the idea of changing the status quo in Judea and Samaria has become a popular topic of discussion.

President-elect Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, recently authored One Jewish State, a book that calls for Israel to finally incorporate Judea and Samaria into Israel. The calls for extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria have grown louder – both among Zionists inside and outside of Israel.

THERE ARE MANY who object to changing the status quo of Judea and Samaria today. There are four well-known arguments that oppose making Judea and Samaria part of Israel.

First, those on the far Left consider Judea and Samaria to be Palestinian land and believe it is immoral or illegal for Israel to ever extend its rule over this region.

Next, there are those who are concerned with international condemnation that would assuredly come with an Israeli announcement of extending its borders to Judea and Samaria.

Others are concerned with the Palestinian population that currently lives in Judea and Samaria and the uncertain policies that would need to be created for their communities.

Lastly, there are those in favor of extending Israel’s sovereignty to Judea and Samaria but place a priority on expanding the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia and fear any Israeli change of status quo in Judea and Samaria could sidetrack and even end the possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

These are all legitimate concerns, and they deserve to be addressed. 

Judea and Samaria are historic Jewish lands where Jews have lived continuously for 3,000 years. Forfeiting Jewish claims to the heartland of the Jewish homeland in favor of a misguided compromise – that the Arabs rejected for decades – contradicts the Zionist mandate to settle and govern the historic Jewish homeland.

Israel has suffered international condemnation for how it wages war, its extension of sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and declaring Jerusalem as its capital. Yet, Israel has not only survived, it has thrived in the face of that condemnation. Many of the nations most vocal in their condemnation of Israeli policies are the first ones to sign treaties with Israel and sign contracts with Israeli companies.

Israel would be foolish to be more concerned with the noise than the facts on the ground when considering new policies that would actualize Jewish rights to its lands.

The challenge of the Palestinian population currently living in Judea and Samaria is not an easy problem to solve. Israel has faced far more daunting challenges, though, and has handled them all without hampering its own development. Israel should not handicap its own development on the assumption it can’t solve a problem.

Finally, Israel can’t allow its policy to be dictated by the unknown demands of the Arab world. Zionists didn’t build a state to cower from developing their historic land. An honest look at the Arab world demonstrates a lack of genuine concern for the Palestinians.

If Israel is resolute in its dedication to developing all its historic lands, Arab nations will be forced to deal with Israeli policies, including those they don’t appreciate. Saudi Arabia should never get to veto Israeli policy.

Over the past 55 years, Israeli leaders, activists, and pundits have masqueraded tentativeness with calls for restraint on growth. This thinking is inconsistent with the courageous bravery of early Zionist leaders.

The calls to stunt expansion, development, and growth in Israel are reflective of the objections to Zionism heard in the early 1900s when fear of the international community’s condemnation was given priority by some over Jewish sovereignty to the Jewish homeland.

Thankfully, those voices were quickly silenced, and the Jewish state was established. It is time for the brave Zionist leaders of today to once again set their calls for restraint, concerns over the condemnations of the international community, and fear of the unknown aside in favor of developing the land of Israel. The time has come to make Judea and Samaria a part of the State of Israel.

The writer is a certified interfaith hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and the mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho, where she lives with her husband and six children.