Speaker Johnson ‘The Bible is clear: Judea and Samaria are the Land of Israel’

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), speaker of the House of Representatives, told visiting Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan in Washington this week that “Judea and Samaria are the Land of Israel,” Dagan’s office stated on Thursday.

“I visited Samaria—both as a member of Congress before becoming speaker, and again last summer as speaker with a small group of colleagues,” Johnson told Dagan, according to a Hebrew readout the Samaria Regional Council provided to JNS on Thursday.

“The Bible is clear: Judea and Samaria are the Land of Israel. I do not understand why we debate this anew every single day,” Johnson said, adding, “The people of Israel know who stands with them in this moment of crisis. They recognize it, and they value it.”

During their meeting, Dagan presented Johnson with copper artwork depicting biblical sites in northern Samaria, including Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus (Shechem), Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, and ancient pillars of Samaria (Sebastia), the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

“We are fighting together for justice. Judea and Samaria are justice, and they are security. No nation on earth has a connection to its homeland as deep as the Jewish people have to the Land of Israel—especially to Judea and Samaria, the land of the Bible,” Dagan told the speaker.

“Two thousand years ago, the prophets Jeremiah, Amos and Ezekiel foretold that the people of Israel would return to their land, rebuild the hills of Samaria, plant vineyards and produce wine,” Dagan continued.

“That is exactly what we are doing today,” he said. “There is no greater justice than fulfilling the words of the prophets in the Land of Israel, particularly in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.

“Before, and certainly after Oct. 7, it is clear to all of us that this is not only a matter of justice, but also the protective shield of the State of Israel,” Dagan said, in reference to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks targeting villages on the southern border.

“Therefore, it is also what brings security to the Western world and to the United States," he said.

Dagan traveled to the U.S. capital for three days of marathon meetings aimed at promoting Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, his office announced. He met with lawmakers, top Trump administration officials and leading evangelical figures.

On Wednesday, Dagan spoke at a “historic” hearing of the Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The hearing, titled, “Understanding Judea and Samaria: Historical, Strategic and Political Dynamics in U.S.–Israel Relations,” marked the first use of the region’s “accurate and historic name,” according to Dagan’s statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has led an unprecedented drive to expand control of Judea and Samaria, approving some 50,000 housing units and more than 50 new Jewish communities since late 2022.

As of Jan. 1, 529,704 Jews lived in Judea and Samaria, amounting to approximately 5.28% of the Jewish state’s population.

Nearly 70% of Israelis want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty over the disputed territory, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29.

On Aug. 4, Johnson declared that Judea and Samaria belong to the Jewish people “by right,” as he became the highest-ranking American official to cross the Jewish state’s pre-1967 lines with Samaria.

According to the Israel Hayom daily, Johnson visited the Samaria city of Ariel with the express consent of U.S. President Donald Trump and the State Department.

© JNS