Jack J. Gindi, a board member of American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS), spoke with Israel National News during a trip to the Samaria region of Israel.
As a member of the board of AFJS, Gindi has a deep appreciation for the significance of Judea and Samaria to the Jewish people and has long felt the spiritual and historical connection of the Jewish people to the region as the land where the Bible happened. As part of his visit to the Samaria region, he issued a call from within Samaria itself for greater Jewish connection to the nation's biblical heartland.
Gindi explains how his interest in Israel began: "I'm a Jew. I learned Torah growing up. It doesn't take much more than that to have a connection and want to come visit - this is our land."
Judea and Samaria, he says, have particular importance to the future of the state: "This is part of who we are, no less than Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or Netanya. Judea and Samaria are the backbone of the Jewish people, and if we want to go forward, we cannot abandon our past here."
