PREFILED    JAN 09 2026

REFERENCE TITLE: recognizing Judea and Samaria

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HR 2002

Introduced by

Representative Livingston

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing the legitimacy of Judea and Samaria.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Whereas, the regions known as Judea and Samaria are the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, comprising the historical, spiritual and geographic core of the Land of Israel; and

Whereas, Judea and Samaria are repeatedly and explicitly referenced in the Hebrew Bible as the setting for key events that form the foundation of the Jewish religion and national identity of the State of Israel; and

Whereas, in the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people, first entered the Land of Israel at Shechem, located in Samaria, where God promised the land to his descendants; and

Whereas, Abraham subsequently purchased the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, in Judea, as a burial place for his wife Sarah, thereby making the first recorded land acquisition by a Jewish person in the Land of Israel; and

Whereas, Jacob, Abraham's grandson, had his prophetic dream of a ladder reaching heaven while in Bethel, in Samaria, and later purchased land near Shechem and built an altar to God there; and

Whereas, Joseph, Jacob's son, was buried in Shechem in fulfillment of the promise made to him by his family; and

Whereas, the covenant ceremony between the children of Israel and God was performed on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, both of which are located in Samaria; and

Whereas, the Tabernacle, which was the center of Israelite worship before the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, stood in Shiloh, in Samaria, for several centuries; and

Whereas, King David began his reign over the tribes of Israel in Hebron, in Judea, where he ruled for seven years before establishing his kingdom in Jerusalem; and

Whereas, Jerusalem, which sits on the border of the tribal territories of Judah and Benjamin, was purchased by King David from Araunah the Jebusite and became the eternal capital of the Jewish people; and

Whereas, the return of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria in modern times constitutes the fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies, including Jeremiah 31:5, Ezekiel 36:8 and Amos 9:14; and

Whereas, the names Judea and Samaria are historically, biblically and legally accurate terms for the region; and

Whereas, Samaria derives from the city established by King Omri, and Judea refers to the territory of the tribe of Judah, which included Jerusalem, Hebron and surrounding regions; and

Whereas, the areas of Judea and Samaria were illegally conquered by Jordan in Israel's Independence War in 1948 and the term "West Bank" was imposed by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during its illegal occupation of the region between 1948 and 1967; and

Whereas the term "West Bank" is a political construct meant to reframe the land as the "West Bank of the Jordan River" and sever it from its historical Jewish and biblical roots; and

Whereas, the term "West Bank" is a deliberate attempt to erase the Jewish identity of Judea and Samaria and to obscure the deep historical, religious and legal connections of the Jewish people to the land; and

Whereas, during the Six Day War of June 1967, the State of Israel liberated Judea and Samaria from Jordanian control, restoring Jewish access to their ancestral homeland and holy sites after 19 years of exclusion and desecration under Jordanian occupation; and

Whereas, the strategic importance of Judea and Samaria to the State of Israel is irrefutable, and without the two regions, the width of Israel is only 9 miles at its narrowest point, rendering the state militarily indefensible; and

Whereas, the highlands of Judea and Samaria overlook Israel's coastal plain and central corridor, placing Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion International Airport within range of hostile forces outside of Israeli control; and

Whereas, Israel's control of Judea and Samaria is essential to its defense and deterrence capabilities, and hostile control of the area would place Israel's major cities and transportation arteries at risk; and

Whereas, the ideological and cultural conflicts over Judea and Samaria represent a broader civilizational struggle between Judeo-Christian values and Islamic ideologies that seek to undermine Western democratic principles and religious freedom; and

Whereas, supporting Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria is an affirmation of the moral and historical legitimacy of the Jewish people's connection to the land, the authenticity and enduring relevance of the Bible and the values that underpin both Western civilization and American constitutional democracy; and

Whereas, numerous American cities and towns bear the names of biblical locations in Judea and Samaria, illustrating the deep cultural and spiritual bond between the United States and the State of Israel; and

Whereas, under the San Remo Resolution of 1920, the Allied Powers recognized the right of the Jewish people to reconstitute their national home in their ancestral land, including Judea and Samaria; and

Whereas, this decision was incorporated into the Mandate for Palestine, which was approved by the League of Nations and remains binding under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter; and

Whereas, no international agreement or resolution has lawfully revoked or superseded these foundational legal rights, making Israel's sovereignty over Judea and Samaria consistent with international law; and

Whereas, the security and sovereignty of the State of Israel in Judea and Samaria serve the strategic interests of the United States by preventing the emergence of another terrorist-controlled state in the heart of the Middle East, advancing long-term stability in the Middle East and ensuring that America stands in defense of truth and moral clarity and affirming the Judeo-Christian heritage on which the United States was founded.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona:

That the Members of the House of Representatives:

1. Recognize the historical, biblical and legal legitimacy of the regions of Judea and Samaria and formally reject the term "West Bank" as a modern political construct.

2. Support the use of the terms "Judea" and "Samaria" in all official state communications, documents and references regarding those regions.