Samaria Council Chief Demands Official Name Change for Coordinator Unit
Yossi Dagan demands official renaming of "Government Activities Coordinator in the Territories" unit to reflect historical Jewish connection to Judea and Samaria region.
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Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan has formally requested that Israel’s “Government Activities Coordinator in the Territories” be renamed to its official title: “Government Activities Coordinator in Judea and Samaria.”
In a letter sent this Thursday to Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Dagan argued that the current term, “the Territories,” constitutes a “moral and historical injustice” and drags the IDF into political debates that fall outside its mandate.
“This is not merely a semantic change,” Dagan wrote. “Referring to the region by its proper name reflects its central place in Jewish history and heritage.”
He also pointed to legislative initiatives in the United States and other countries that prohibit the use of “West Bank,” mandating instead the use of “Judea and Samaria,” stressing that if foreign governments adopt this terminology, Israel should follow suit internally.
Dagan’s move underscores ongoing debates over terminology and symbolism in the context of Israeli governance and the historical narrative of the region.