House Speaker Mike Johnson stood in his Washington office this week and said what millions of Bible-believing Christians and Jews know to be true: Judea and Samaria belong to the Jewish people. “The Bible is clear: Judea and Samaria are the Land of Israel,” Johnson told Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan during a meeting that underscored the deepening alliance between Israel and its evangelical supporters in America. “I do not understand why we debate this anew every single day.”
Johnson’s declaration carries weight beyond mere political rhetoric. As the highest-ranking member of the House of Representatives, his words reflect a fundamental shift in how America’s leadership discusses Israeli territory. Last summer, Johnson became the highest-ranking American official to cross into Samaria, visiting the city of Ariel with the express consent of President Donald Trump and the State Department. That visit, and this week’s meeting with Dagan, demonstrate that the speaker practices what he preaches.
Johnson is clearly correct as the the Bible records God’s covenant with Abraham, declaring: “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates'” (Genesis 15:18). This divine promise was not contingent on political negotiations or international approval. The land grant included the very hills and valleys of Shomron (Samaria) and Yehuda (Judea) where Jewish communities stand today. These regions formed the heartland of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, where prophets walked, kings ruled, and the Jewish people forged their identity. The city of Shechem—today’s Nablus—witnessed Jacob’s purchase of land and Joseph’s burial. Hebron sheltered Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Bethel saw Jacob’s ladder reaching toward heaven. No amount of modern political pressure can erase these biblical realities.
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,” Dagan told the speaker. “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 continued: “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. That is exactly what we are doing today. 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.”
The Samaria leader connected Jewish presence in the region directly to Israeli security. “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, referencing the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. “Therefore, it is also what brings security to the Western world and to the United States.”
Johnson told Dagan, “The people of Israel know who stands with them in this moment of crisis. They recognize it, and they value it.” The speaker has backed up his words with action. On August 4, he declared that Judea and Samaria belong to the Jewish people “by right” during his historic visit to the region.
Dagan traveled to Washington for three days of marathon meetings aimed at promoting Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. He met with lawmakers, top Trump administration officials and leading evangelical figures. On Wednesday, Dagan spoke at what his office called a “historic” hearing of the Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The hearing carried the title “Understanding Judea and Samaria: Historical, Strategic and Political Dynamics in U.S.–Israel Relations.”
The hearing marked a significant milestone: the first use of the region’s accurate and historic name in official congressional proceedings. For decades, American government officials have defaulted to the Jordanian-imposed term for the region, a name that erases three thousand years of Jewish history. The shift to using Judea and Samaria in official congressional discourse represents more than semantics. It signals a recognition that language shapes reality and that accurate terminology matters in diplomacy.
This linguistic shift reflects growing momentum in Congress to align American policy with biblical and historical truth. The hearing’s very existence—and its title—demonstrate that evangelical influence on Middle East policy continues to expand under the Trump administration. 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 January 1, 529,704 Jews lived in Judea and Samaria, comprising approximately 5.28% of the Jewish state’s population. A poll conducted on January 29 found that nearly 70% of Israelis want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty over the disputed territory.
The Johnson-Dagan meeting took place against the backdrop of the annual Israel Allies conference in Washington, where hundreds of Christian leaders and lawmakers from more than 30 countries gathered to demonstrate support for the Jewish state. The three-day gathering featured senior administration and congressional briefings, including an address by Speaker Johnson, meetings with members of the White House Faith Office, and a keynote address by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran. The event culminated with an award ceremony honoring President Trump for his support of Israel.
“Faith-based diplomacy has become a global force responsible for 80 percent of all Israel’s diplomatic success,” Josh Reinstein, president of the Israel Allies Foundation, told JNS. “President Trump has brought the who’s who of faith-based diplomacy into every facet of governance. The results speak for themselves.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in Jerusalem this week that evangelical support for Israel is “more vital than ever” in the wake of the antisemitism triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The alliance between evangelicals and Israel rests on shared conviction: the Bible means what it says. Tens of millions of evangelical Christians in America alone, forming the bulwark of the Republican Party, along with hundreds of millions more around the world, see the return of Jews to their ancestral homeland as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. They stand with Israel not despite Scripture but because of it.
Johnson’s statement that “the Bible is clear” cuts through decades of diplomatic doublespeak. The land belongs to the Jewish people because God said so. No UN resolution, no international pressure, no amount of hand-wringing from foreign ministries can change that reality. The speaker of the House understands this truth, and he refuses to pretend otherwise.
