Jewish right to live in Judea and Samaria (often called the West Bank) is not an act of colonial ambition but rather one of equality, historical justice, and moral restoration — integrating historical facts, legal foundations, and ethical reasoning suitable for UbuntuSafa’s balanced, truth-centered tone.

"A Journey Rooted in Humanity".

Judea and Samaria: A Question of Equality and Historical Justice, Not Colonial Ambition-

Reclaiming the Narrative

Few issues in modern political discourse are as misunderstood as the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria — the biblical heartland of ancient Israel. Critics often frame it as a “colonial project,” implying that Jews are outsiders imposing themselves upon a native population. But this narrative collapses under the weight of historical truth.

Jews are not foreign settlers in Judea and Samaria; they are its indigenous people — returning to the same hills, valleys, and towns where their ancestors lived thousands of years ago. From Hebron to Shiloh, from Bethel to Jerusalem, these places are not new frontiers — they are ancestral homelands.

The right of Jews to live there is not a privilege granted by others but a restoration of equality and historical justice, after centuries of displacement. The Jewish return to Judea and Samaria embodies the world’s most ancient and continuous connection between a people and a land — a relationship sanctified in faith, confirmed by archaeology, and recognized by international law.

1. The Historical Roots: Where the Jewish Story Began

To call Jews “colonial settlers” in Judea is as illogical as calling the Chinese colonialists in Beijing or the Greeks colonialists in Athens. The very word “Jew” originates from “Judean” — one who comes from Judea.

This land forms the geographical and spiritual core of Jewish identity:

• The Patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — walked its hills.

• The Twelve Tribes settled there, including Judah, from which “Jew” derives.

• The Temple in Jerusalem stood as the center of Jewish worship for nearly a thousand years.

• Kings David and Solomon ruled from these same mountains.

• Prophets like Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah preached within these borders.

When Jews pray, they still face Jerusalem. When they celebrate Passover, they proclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem.” This enduring relationship cannot be severed by political rhetoric — it is written into the fabric of Jewish faith and civilization.

The Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria continued even after Roman exile — from small communities in Hebron, Safed, and Nablus to pilgrims who never stopped returning. Archaeological remains, ancient synagogues, and Hebrew inscriptions bear witness to that unbroken link.

2. The Colonialism Myth: Misapplied and Misleading

Colonialism, by definition, involves a foreign power conquering and exploiting lands that are not its own, usually for economic or imperial gain. By contrast:

• The Jews did not arrive in Judea and Samaria under a foreign flag; they returned from exile to their ancestral home.

• They did not come to exploit resources or dominate others; they came to rebuild a land that had been largely barren under successive empires.

• They were not agents of empire but survivors of centuries of oppression, seeking self-determination and dignity.

Labeling the Jewish return as colonialism turns reality upside down. The true colonial powers in this region were the Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Ottomans, and British — all foreign rulers who came and went. The Jews were the only people exiled and yet continually returning.

This distinction matters because colonialism implies illegitimacy; indigeneity implies justice. To deny Jews their homeland while affirming it for every other people is not moral progress — it is moral inversion.

3. Equality Before the Law: The Right to Live Anywhere in the Land

The call for “equality” must apply to all — including Jews. If Arabs can live in the Galilee, Tel Aviv, or Jerusalem, why can’t Jews live in Hebron or Shiloh?

Under the Oslo Accords, both Israelis and Palestinians agreed that the final status of Judea and Samaria would be resolved through negotiation — not by denying one group’s right to exist there. Yet, international rhetoric often demands a “Judenrein” (Jew-free) territory — a concept that echoes dark chapters of history rather than equality or coexistence.

True equality means mutual presence, not mutual exclusion. A future of peace will come not by uprooting communities but by learning to live side by side — Jewish and Arab, Israeli and Palestinian — as equals under law.

To call for the expulsion of Jews from Judea and Samaria is not a peace policy; it is discrimination based on ethnicity. Genuine equality must mean that both peoples have the right to live anywhere in their shared land, provided they respect one another’s safety and dignity.

4. Legal and International Foundations of the Jewish Right

Beyond moral and historical grounds, the Jewish right to reside in Judea and Samaria has firm legal foundations rooted in international law.

The San Remo Resolution (1920) and the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922) explicitly recognized the right of the Jewish people to reconstitute their national home in the land of Israel, including territories west of the Jordan River — which encompasses Judea and Samaria.

Article 6 of the Mandate stated:

“The Administration of Palestine... shall encourage close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.”

When the United Nations later adopted the Partition Plan in 1947, it proposed dividing the land into Jewish and Arab states, not because Jews were newcomers, but because both peoples lived there. The Jews accepted the plan; Arab leaders rejected it and launched a war of extermination.

After the 1948 War of Independence, Jordan illegally occupied Judea and Samaria for 19 years — annexing it without international recognition. During that time, Jews were forbidden from living or visiting their holiest sites, including the Western Wall. When Israel regained control in 1967, it did not seize foreign territory — it reclaimed land that had never legally belonged to another sovereign state.

Thus, according to both historical and legal precedents, the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is not occupation, but restoration of a lawful and indigenous right.

5. The Moral Dimension: Restoring Justice After Centuries of Denial

The Jewish right to live in Judea and Samaria is fundamentally about justice after dispossession. For nearly 2,000 years, Jews prayed for return, suffered exile, and faced persecution for clinging to their identity. To now brand their return as illegitimate is to punish endurance and reward erasure.

Equality demands that Jews be treated as any other people with ancestral ties. No moral system that defends Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, or African descendants reclaiming their heritage can, in the same breath, deny Jews the right to live in their own birthplace.

If indigenous rights are universal, they must apply to the world’s oldest continuous indigenous nation — the Jews of Israel. Denying this is not moral clarity; it is selective morality.

6. A Case of Coexistence, Not Domination

The Jewish vision for Judea and Samaria is not one of domination but coexistence. In cities like Hebron, Ariel, and Gush Etzion, thousands of Jews and Arabs already interact daily — in trade, work, and education.

The challenge is not the Jewish presence itself but the political culture of rejection that refuses to accept Jewish equality. The more both peoples see each other as legitimate — not as invaders or obstacles — the closer they move to true peace.

Peace requires a mindset of shared belonging, not exclusion. Judea and Samaria should not be seen as trophies to be divided, but as a shared sacred landscape where two peoples must learn to build side by side.

7. The Spiritual Dimension: Judea and Samaria as the Heart of the Promise

Spiritually, Judea and Samaria are the heart of the covenant between God and the people of Israel. From Abraham’s altar in Shechem (Nablus) to Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem, every hill carries the echoes of prayer and promise.

The restoration of Jewish life here is not an imperial claim — it is a fulfillment of faith and memory. To remove Jews from Judea would be to sever a people from its soul. It would be like asking Native Americans to abandon their sacred mountains or Africans to forget the lands where their ancestors are buried.

For Jews, returning to Judea and Samaria is not political ambition — it is spiritual homecoming.

8. Global Double Standards: The Moral Test of Consistency

The accusation of “colonialism” reveals more about global bias than about Israel. The international community often celebrates indigenous peoples reclaiming their land — except when the people are Jewish.

Why is Jewish return condemned while other indigenous revivals are applauded? Why do the same voices that champion decolonization deny Jewish indigeneity in Judea?

This double standard undermines the universal principles of justice. True equality cannot depend on which people the world prefers politically; it must be rooted in truth and fairness.

Justice, Not Ambition

The Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is not an obstacle to peace; it is a testament to survival, justice, and equality. The story of Israel is not one of colonial ambition but of a people returning home after centuries of exile — rebuilding, coexisting, and seeking peace in the same hills where their prophets once walked.

To recognize the Jewish right to live in Judea and Samaria is to affirm the universal moral principle that every people, especially the indigenous and persecuted, has the right to live freely and safely in their ancestral land.

In the spirit of Ubuntu — “I am because we are” — acknowledging Jewish belonging does not deny Palestinian dignity; it affirms that justice is indivisible. The land’s future must be built not on exclusion but on shared truth, equality, and respect for the ancient roots that make Judea and Samaria sacred to all.