HCR 2047

House Engrossed
legitimacy; Judea and
  Samaria; recognition
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2047
A
CONCURRENT 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, the Senate concurring:
That the Members of the Legislature:
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.
PASSED BY THE HOUSE FEBRUARY 23, 2026.
PASSED BY THE SENATE APRIL 20, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
OF STATE APRIL 21, 2026.