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Source: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-name-west-bank-erases-the-truth-4ab0a62f
The Name "West Bank" Erases the Truth
(Wall Street Journal) Gideon Israel - In the Middle East, a place name is never just a name - it is a claim. For decades, the term "West Bank" has stripped the land of its historical identity. A mid-20th-century substitution, it replaced the indigenous names Judea and Samaria to sever the Jewish connection to the region. Now U.S. lawmakers in a dozen states and both houses of Congress are advancing legislation to restore these original names in official U.S. documents. Judea and Samaria are crucial to Israel's survival. Their ridges tower up to 3,000 feet over the coastal plain where 70% of Israel's population and Ben-Gurion Airport reside. These highlands are a strategic asset that protects the country from invasion. Without them, Israel would be less than 10 miles wide at its narrowest point and indefensible. Samaria is a region mentioned more than 100 times in the Bible as the heart of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. To the south, Judea is the birthplace of the line of King David. Even under the Persian Empire, Judea was the official administrative name for the province. Christian scriptures treat Judea and Samaria as the actual districts on the Roman map, proving that a millennium after the kings of Israel, the world still used these names. When the UN drafted the 1947 Partition Plan, it repeatedly referred to Judea and Samaria. The transition to "West Bank" occurred in 1950, when Jordan annexed the territory and sought to justify a Jordanian presence west of the Jordan River. Its rule lasted less than two decades, yet it managed to cloud thousands of years of history.