Daniels Files Pro-Israel Bill Affirming Judea and Samaria

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Majority Floor Leader Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, filed legislation today that requires state agencies to use the historically accurate name of “Judea and Samaria” instead of the term “West Bank” in official government materials when referring to the region in the heart of Israel.

“I introduced Senate Bill 2153 to correct the record and affirm the historic and biblical connection of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria,” Leader Daniels said. “A term created in 1948 for political reasons should not be allowed to erase the true name of the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Judea and Samaria are not modern political inventions. They are referenced throughout Scripture and central to Jewish history for thousands of years.”

Senator Daniels is working with Yigal Dilmoni and Rafi Lazerowitz from the American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS) on the legislation.

Lazerowitz praised Daniels’ bill.

“American citizens — Jews and Christians alike — are united today in their support for the State of Israel and in safeguarding Judea and Samaria as an inseparable part of it,” he said. “We express our deep appreciation to Majority Floor Leader Julie Daniels and her colleagues in the Oklahoma Legislature, who are working not only to strengthen Israel’s security, but also to educate the younger generation in the United States to move away from false and politically driven terminology, reconnect with the Bible, and use language grounded in truth and justice. This is how we strengthen understanding of the biblical history of the Land of Israel.”

Daniels said working last session to help pass Senate Bill 991, which created an official definition of antisemitism, brought this issue to light.

“The truth matters,” she said. “The words and terms used to define and influence thinking about the Jewish people and the State of Israel must be truthful.”

Her bill closely mirrors federal efforts to return the U.S. to using historically accurate terminology when referring to this culturally and defensively significant region in the heart of Israel.

Oklahoma is not acting alone. With this legislation, our state joins Arkansas, which has already enacted similar law, and becomes part of a growing movement among U.S. states advancing policies rooted in historical truth and biblical values, Daniels said.

SB 2153 will be eligible for consideration during the 2026 legislative session, which begins Feb. 2.

-END-

For more information, contact: Sen. Julie Daniels at 405-521-5634 or email Julie.Daniels@oksenate.gov