South Carolina H 4865: Aiken Steeplechase Assn. congrats

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4865 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 14, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4865

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A house RESOLUTION

to recognize judea and samaria as 
the ancestral heartland of the jewish people, to affirm the historical, 
biblical, and legal connection of the jewish people to judea and samaria, to 
reject the politicized term "west bank" and to stand in solidarity with the 
state of israel.

Whereas, the regions historically known as Judea and Samaria 
constitute the ancestral heartland of the Jewish people and comprise the 
historical, spiritual, and geographical 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 people's religious and national identity; and

Whereas, 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, as recorded in Genesis 12:6-7; 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 Jew in the Land of Israel, as recorded in 
Genesis 23; and

Whereas, Jacob, Abraham's grandson, had his prophetic dream of a 
ladder reaching heaven while in Bethel, in Samaria, as recorded in Genesis 
28:10-22, and later purchased land near Shechem, building an altar to God 
there, as described in Genesis 33:18-20; and

Whereas, Joseph, Jacob's son, was buried in Shechem in fulfillment of 
the promise made to him by his family, as recorded in Joshua 24:32; and

Whereas, the covenant ceremony between the children of Israel and God 
was performed on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, both located in Samaria, as 
commanded in Deuteronomy 11:29; and

Whereas, the Tabernacle, which was the center of Israelite worship 
prior to the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem, stood in Shiloh, in 
Samaria, for several centuries, as recorded in Joshua 18:1; 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, as described in 2 Samuel 2:1-4; and

Whereas, Jerusalem, which sits historically 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, as 
recorded in 2 Samuel 24:24; 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 the historically, 
biblically, and legally accurate terms for the region, while 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 designed to 
sever the land from its Jewish historical and biblical roots 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 nineteen years of exclusion; and

Whereas, without Judea and Samaria, the width of Israel is only nine 
miles at its narrowest point, rendering the nation militarily indefensible and 
placing more than seventy percent of Israel's population and economic 
infrastructure at risk; and

Whereas, the highlands of Judea and Samaria overlook Israel's coastal 
plain, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ben-Gurion International Airport, 
making Israeli control of these areas essential to national defense; and

Whereas, the ideological conflict over Judea and Samaria represents a 
broader civilizational struggle between Judeo-Christian values and radical 
ideologies that seek to undermine Western democratic principles and religious 
freedom; and

Whereas, numerous American towns and cities bear the names of 
biblical locations in Judea and Samaria, illustrating the deep cultural and 
spiritual bond between the United States and the biblical Land of Israel; and

Whereas, under the San Remo Resolution of 1920 and the League of 
Nations Mandate for Palestine, the international community recognized the right 
of the Jewish people to reconstitute their national home in their ancestral 
land, including Judea and Samaria, rights that remain preserved under Article 
80 of the United Nations Charter; and

Whereas, no international agreement or resolution has lawfull