Late on Monday night in Samaria, Senator Jason Rapert of Arkansas, the founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL), gathered a contingent of 20 U.S. lawmakers in quiet prayer before the army arrived to escort them into Joseph’s Tomb, one of the holiest and most sensitive sites in the region. They were guided by Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.

“One of my favorite verses is Psalm 56:11: ‘I put my trust in God, what can any man do to me?’” Rapert told JNS. “I spoke with the [IDF] Central Command general with Yossi Dagan before going inside. We knew we would be safe.”

The visiting lawmakers represent local, state and federal offices, hailing from Maine, Hawaii, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona and Tennessee. Their message was clear throughout their multi-day tour: unwavering support for Israel—on both sides of the Armistice Line.

Dagan led them to key sites across the region, including Peduel’s “State’s Balcony,” perched on a ridge overlooking Israel’s narrow center, where the coastline from Haifa to south of Ashdod is visible at once.

“Stand here and you’re only nine kilometers from the sea,” he said, underscoring Israel’s razor-thin strategic depth and the significance of the Samarian hills.

A unique Christian legislative organization

Founded in 2020, the NACL is the first national association of Christian lawmakers in U.S. history. With members and supporters in all 50 states, it is also the only national legislative organization with a standing committee dedicated to America-Israel relations.

During their visit to Israel, the lawmakers toured Alon Moreh, Shiloh and Har Bracha, and held meetings with Knesset members in Jerusalem.

Joseph’s Tomb, however, was a highlight—an experience many Israelis themselves have never had due to the intensive security required to enter Nablus (biblical Shechem). On the very day the group visited, IDF forces killed an Arab terrorist wanted for the ramming deaths of two Israelis, after he refused to surrender.

“We appreciate the IDF for their escort and protection as we visited Joseph’s Tomb,” Rapert said. “This highlighted the sad reality that the hatred of some keeps peaceful Jews and Christians from visiting important holy sites throughout Judea and Samaria, which is where over 80% of the stories we know in the Bible occurred.”

A message rooted in scripture and sovereignty

Rapert, a Republican, recently completed a book, SAVE THE NATION: The Crisis in America & How to Secure the Republic, which includes a chapter on Israel by Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel, and a foreword by U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

“As the Bible declares in Genesis 12, blessed are those who bless Israel,” Rapert said. “America must continue to bless Israel forevermore.”

The NACL delegation also reaffirmed its legislative stance, pushing joint resolutions in U.S. state legislatures to prohibit the use of the term “West Bank” in official documents, replacing it with the biblical “Judea and Samaria.” Multiple NACL chapters have already drafted and lobbied for such bills.

This was not Rapert’s first visit to Samaria. “I visited Joshua’s altar in May of 2025. This is the undisputed location of Israel’s founding,” he said. “In America, we recognize Plymouth Rock. Every American would scoff at the idea that America should not have sovereignty over Plymouth Rock. Joshua’s altar is Israel’s Plymouth Rock … the region of Judea and Samaria is and forever shall be part of Israel.”

European and American opposition to Israeli sovereignty in the area, he argued, ignores the Bible and history, which “prove that Israel and the Jewish people are the rightful heirs and sovereigns of all these areas.”

A visit laced with personal meaning

As part of his broader diplomatic outreach, Dagan also hosted Prince Édouard Lamoral Rodolphe de Ligne-La Trémoïlle of Belgium and his father, Prince Charles.

For Rapert, the visit to Joseph’s Tomb was deeply personal.

“The team described what Christians call a tangible presence of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “We were united with our Jewish brothers and sisters in God’s presence. For me, it was especially powerful because my daughter Olivia was with me. One of our grandmothers, through my mother, Mary, Louisa Christiana Fleugge, was Jewish from Germany. We understand the special connection with our Jewish friends and what it means to pray at the tomb of Joseph, which is part of her ancestral grounds.”

Senator Lana Theis of Michigan, chair of the NACL’s America-Israel Committee, said the visit helped crystallize the connection between the countries.

“We are here where everything began,” she told JNS. “Without the foundations of Israel, we would not have succeeded in the United States. We are grateful, proud, and committed to preserving this connection.”

The delegation left Israel with a unified declaration: “There is no such thing as the West Bank—we will work to apply sovereignty.”

Dagan responded simply: “We are fighting together. Sovereignty is justice.”

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