But Tel Aviv is a modern city; it doesn\u2019t boast the long history cities like Jerusalem, Beersheba, or even 2,000-year-old Haifa.<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t value to Israel\u2019s modern cities, but they aren\u2019t the heart \u2013 and soul \u2013 of the Jewish land.<\/p>\n
An Israeli flag flutters, as part of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim is visible in the background, in the West Bank, August 14, 2025. (credit: REUTERS\/Ronen Zvulun)<\/p>\n
Most of the nations of the world considers Israel\u2019s control of the historic Judea and Samaria region (what the world calls the \u201cWest Bank\u201d) as an illegal occupation \u2013 and Israel\u2019s treatment of the Palestinians who live there as an apartheid.<\/p>\n
In their vision of the future of the Middle East and the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel would evict all its citizens from the West Bank and a Palestinian state would be founded in place of the former Israeli towns.<\/p>\n
These nations feel comfortable demanding Israel abandon its towns and expel its citizens because they consider the West Bank Palestinian land. Most of the nations don\u2019t even consider Jerusalem to be Jewish land.<\/p>\n
They keep their embassies in Tel Aviv because, in their estimation, Tel Aviv and the coastline are Jewish land and the West Bank is Palestinian. They couldn\u2019t be more mistaken.<\/p>\n
Judea and Samaria are at the historic heartland of the Jewish people. There are locations in that area that stand as living tributes to Israel\u2019s history. These cities are well-documented archaeological treasures that provide strong evidence of ancient Jewish historical presence and rights to the land.<\/p>\n
Exploring Israel\u2019s historic heartland<\/p>\n
These places tie directly into biblical narratives of Jewish heritage, from patriarchal times through the periods of the Judges, monarchy, and beyond. They emphasize the continuous Jewish connection through worship, settlement, and governance.<\/p>\n
Tel Shiloh<\/a> is ancient Shiloh, the site where the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant stood for nearly 400 years as Israel\u2019s central sanctuary.\u00a0<\/p>\n Excavations have uncovered massive deposits of sacrificial animal bones (mostly kosher species), cultic vessels, altar horns, a ceramic pomegranate (symbolic in priestly contexts), and a monumental stone structure matching the Tabernacle\u2019s biblical dimensions and east-west orientation from the Iron Age I period, the time of Joshua, Eli, and Samuel.<\/p>\n These confirm Shiloh as a key Israelite cultic center.<\/p>\n The Cave of the Patriarchs (Machpelah) in Hebron is the burial site of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. While the cave itself remains unexcavated, the surrounding Tel Hebron reveals massive Bronze Age fortifications, Iron Age structures, and Second Temple-period mikvaot (\u201critual baths\u201d), indicating Jewish ritual purity practices, underscoring Hebron\u2019s role as a patriarchal and Judahite center.<\/p>\n