Is this just in support of Israel’s actions in Gaza? What advantage does this give Arkansas? Or the GOP? Please help me understand.
https://www.jns.org/a-historic-step-forward-arkansas-recognizes-judea-and-samaria/
It’s about pandering to the religious fanatics which comprise much of their base by giving the region a “Biblical” name. And ritually humiliating everyone who disagrees with them by requiring them to use the term whether they want to or not.
MAGA are just a bunch of Sammy-lovers.
Judea and Samaria (יהודה ושומרון; Yehuda ve’Shomron) is the official Israeli name for the region, and has been since 1967 at least. I see the term all the time in legal documents.
As for why Arkansas cares: they’re probably just trying to start a fight. I suggest not indulging them.
Yep, this is the only reason.
And
This is the only rational way to react.
Some things aint worth getting your knickers in a twist.
.
This is true, too.
Or, just for fun, we could look at it differently, and say that all those good, enlightened, Progressive liberals in Arkansas are just making a land acknowledgement statement.
Now what could be wrong with that? 
They don’t have much bigger and much more relevant things to worry about like, for example, the megalomaniac they’ve put in the White House?
Next step: the Palestinian Authority passes a bill to pronounce Arkansas “ar-KAN-ziss.”
They have nothing better to do since Trump quickly gave them disaster funding after the devastating tornadoes and they’ve already rebuilt.
BTW, there were more tornado warnings yesterday. Glad they can no longer say Gulf of Mexico or West Bank. Priorities!
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5266144-arkansas-fema-trump-tornado-recovery/
@Jasmine 3 posts up while I was typing: Worry about? They’re lovin’ it!
A large section within American Xian Fundamentalism (“AXF”) is the Millenialists. The folks who desperately hope Jeebus will return real soon, destroy the Earth, kill everyone and everything in Nature except them in the greatest act of mass murder since the biblical Great Flood and the actual historical mass extinctions put together, then usher the chosen few directly to heaven, not having passed Go nor collected 200 useless dollars.
IIRC one of the big prerequisites in the countdown to Jeebus’s arrival is the uniting of all the ancient lands of the Israelites under their control. Having AXF Arkansans start calling that area by the ancient name is like telling a 4yo “Santa will be here in just three more days!!”. They are made giddy with anticipation.
Hah, I’ve been pronouncing it like that for years!
I also pronounce Kansas as “Kan-Saw”, just to keep everything in balance.
What podium?
It’s a lectern. As an Arkansan, I am proud are legislators are tackling the issues that really matter to the citizens of the Natural State. We may have 1 in 4 children living with food insecurity, our governor might be pushing for the construction of a prison in Franklin County nobody really wants, we may be ranked near the bottom of all states so far as education goes, we’re listed as one of the worst states to live in as far as quality of life goes, but at least we know to refer to the West Bank and Judea and Samaria.
To foster a skewed sense of historical accuracy, perhaps we should refer to the great state of Akansea…
“The state’s name has been spelled several ways throughout history. In Marquette and Joliet’s Journal of 1673, the Indian name is spelled AKANSEA.”
cite: the wondrously named Cole Jester, Arkansea Sec’y of State
Great post.
I’ll add, Sarah Sanders is a liar and possibly a criminal. I know she’s behind this.
Here in Bright Red Arkansas, we just have to hunker down. And hope she melts like the Wicked witch.
Good god.
( Huckleberry, her Dad, is very large in the Christians for Jews stuff on TV ads, when he’s not hawking some sleep aid)
I can’t imagine where they got the idea to waste a bunch of time obsessing over symbolically renaming things instead of addressing substantive problems. And I can’t imagine that Arkansas voters who are brain health-impacted, Latinx, unhoused people, enslaved people, or assigned female at birth have any idea either.
Come on. There are not slaves in Arkansas.
Maybe symbolic slaves. If that’s what you mean.
Not in the classic sense of enslaved blacks.
We have loads of Black and brown people here. They would fight that. And win.
You can’t think why a bunch of RW Xian loony legislators whose constituents are mostly RW Xian loonies would not want to pander to those RW Xian loonies in any way possible? In a country where performative fanservice is the entire purpose of RW political office?
If you still haven’t figured this out, it’s past time to move.
Now if you really mean something more like “I am sad our AR legislators aren’t trying to run a government any more; just posture for votes, grift, and social media likes”, well, that sentiment is well-founded in fact and I can get behind it totally.
Well, it would mean that I needn’t fuss myself about finding a present for my girlfriend’s birthday…
I am less proud I didn’t get the difference between are and our up there. In defense of Arkansas, I was mostly educated in Texas.
Because they can’t address the substantive problems, they focus on symbolic victories.
Pronounced “Texaw”.
This frantic renaming from the right reminds me of the Soviet Union and Leningrad, Stalingrad, etc.