The 76th annual National Religious Broadcasters national convention will be held for four days in Nashville Tennessee beginning on Tuesday. On Thursday, the convention will also see the launch of “Keep God’s Land“: a joint movement of Jews and Christians passionately devoted to upholding Israel’s sovereignty over its ancestral heartland, Judea and Samaria.
The initiative began in response to the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7, in which Muslim jihadist terrorists murdered, tortured and raped over 1,200 innocent men, women and children, and also took over 200 hostages. The heinous events of October 7 followed an unprecedented wave of murderous terror attacks perpetrated by these jihadists against Jews in Israel’s biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.
“Ever since the October 7th Hamas atrocities, President Biden and his administration have repeatedly declared their support for the creation of a Palestinian state within the framework of a ‘two-state solution’”, the website explains. “On November 26, 2023, President Biden said: ‘A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people.’ He added that his administration “will not give up on working towards this goal.”
The Keep God’s Land movement rejects the anti-Bible “Two-State Delusion” for the following reasons:
- The Keep God’s Land movement rejects the creation of an Arab state in Israel’s heartland as it would pose an existential threat to Israel’s security.
- Neither the Jews nor the Arabs of the region are in favor of creating a two-state solution.
- A two-state solution that divides God’s land would be a direct rejection of God’s will as clearly and repeatedly stated in the Bible.
Join us as Jews and Christians who believe in the Bible stand together with the brave Jewish pioneers of Judea and Samaria. Together, we will ensure Arab terrorists and their antisemitic supporters do not succeed in their plan to drive the Jewish people out of God’s land.
Speakers will include: Michele Bachmann, Pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons, Pastor George Pearsons, Pastor Larry Huch, Minister Gila Gamliel, MK Ohad Tal, Ambassador David Friedman, Troy Miller, Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Dr. Billye Brim, Pastor Nick Vujicic, Erick Stakelbeck, Bishop Robert Stearns, Ruth Guggenheim, Pastor David Swaggerty, Josh Reinstein, and musician Yair Levi.
Rabbi Weisz, the head of Israel365, emphasized the Biblical roots of the Initiative.
“Those who read the Bible know that God did not bring the Jews back to Israel, only to let Hamas drive us out,” Rabbi Weisz said. “There could be nothing more sacrilegious than for the Jewish State to divide the Biblical heartland. The God of justice would never allow rewarding murderers and rapists with additional territory. For Jews and Christians, the challenge of our generation and the battle of our lifetime is to make sure that we Keep God’s Land.”
Ohad Tal, who serves as a member of Knesset for the Religious Zionist Party, noted the historical importance.
“It is our unique privilege to live in the generation when the Jewish people are fulfilling the words of Biblical prophecy and returning to God’s land,” Tal said. “It’s all of our responsibility to ensure that the Land of Israel remains in the hands of the People of Israel.
Rosemary Schindler Garlow noted that the initiative was a holy endeavor.
“I wholeheartedly endorse the “Keep God’s Land” for Israel and the nations’ survival and blessings,” Gartlow said. “Most importantly, this movement brings honor to the Almighty and His Eternal Word, the Bible.”
Pastor Huch praised the movement, saying, “Keep God’s Lands is with out doubt the will of God!! You can ask who does the land of Israel belong to? The answer is found in undeniable proof- biblically, politically, legally and through archaeology! To stand with Israel is to stand in the blessings and the will of God !!”
Laurie Cardozo Moore, the founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), described “Keep God’s Land as a part of the covenant for both Jews and Christians.
“I’m calling on all Jews, Christians, and people of conscience, to stand with our Jewish brethren to “Keep God’s Land”, affirming the eternal Covenant G-d established with Israel.”
Situated in the very heart of modern day Israel, Judea & Samaria were where most of the events described in the Bible took place. This includes the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Bethel, Shechem, and Shiloh.
The region lies alongside Israel’s eastern boundary with Jordan, to the north and south of Jerusalem. The media often refers to this area as “The West Bank,” a term invented by Jordan after Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War, to describe the region the Hashemite Kingdom had illegally occupied from 1948-1967.
Over 500,000 Jews currently live in Judea & Samaria. There are four large Jewish cities and close to 200 Jewish towns and villages in the region.
Covering about 21% of modern Israel, Judea and Samaria span 3,438 square miles (5,500 square km). It stretches approximately 79 miles (125 km) from north to south and has a varying width of 19-34 miles (30-55 km) from east to west. This area includes the suburbs surrounding Jerusalem, regions east of Tel Aviv, and stretches up to the Jordan River on the east.
Judea and Samaria are critically important to Israel for two reasons:
-God Promised Judea & Samaria to Israel’s Forefathers – Judea & Samaria is the very heart of the homeland that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their descendents, the children of Israel.
-Judea & Samaria are Essential to Israel’s Security – Judea and Samaria’s location at the very heart of Israel make Israeli sovereignty over this area essential to Israel’s national security.
Keep God’s Land rejects the creation of a Palestinian state as it would represent an existential threat to the Israel.
“In 2005, Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from Gaza, giving the Palestinians the opportunity to govern themselves in the entire Gaza Strip,”the website explains. “Rather than setting up a functioning state, they used billions of dollars in foreign aid to build a terrorist infrastructure and have continually attacked Israel with rocket fire ever since.”
“This predicament reached its climax with the calamity of October 7, marked by horrifying atrocities committed by Hamas. The Hamas attack left over 1,200 Israelis dead, thousands injured, and over 240 innocent civilians taken as hostages in Gaza. On that terrible day, Hamas terrorists and thousands of “ordinary” Gazans committed appalling crimes, including gang rape, torture, and the murder of entire families. More Jews were murdered on October 7 than on any day since the Holocaust.”
Recent polling shows that 75% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza approve of the Hamas massacre of October 7. A Palestinian state, regardless of the makeup of its government, would present an existential threat to Israel’s national security, empowering a terrorist state dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
Even before October 7, 65% of Israelis (including 59% of Arab Israelis) were opposed to a two-state solution (Pew Research Center, Sept. 2023). The Hamas massacre of October 7 has only increased the number of Israelis opposed to the two-state solution.