Judea and Samaria is the "rightful homeland for the people of Israel," former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post.

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Pompeo made the remarks on a visit to the Psagot Winery in Judea and Samaria, the same place where, nearly a year earlier, he announced the US would label settlement products as "Made in Israel." The former secretary of state made history when he became the first such senior US administration official to visit a Jewish community in the region.

Speaking on Sunday, Pompeo said: "We recognized that this is not an occupied nation, this is not an apartheid country. It is a democracy where faiths can be practiced from all of the Abrahamic traditions," The Jerusalem Post reported.

Noting the shift in former US President Donald Trump's approach toward issues such as Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, Pompeo said it had been clear from the outset of Trump's presidency that the White House "was going to break some glass."

Pompeo, a religious Christian, noted he had studied the battles that took place in the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War while studying at the US Military Academy in West Point, NY. He said he had visited the region with his family before entering politics.

According to Pompeo, the most important statement he made as US secretary of state was when he said that Israel was not occupying Judea and Samaria, according to The Jerusalem Post report.

Also in attendance during Pompeo's visit to the winery was Opposition and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who served as Israel's premier during the former senior US official's previous visit to Psagot.

"This is our land," Netanyahu said. "We have regained the high ground and we shall keep it," he said, clarifying he was referring to both the "physical and moral high ground."

The former prime minister said Jerusalem has "no better ally than the United States."

"In the United States, we have no better ally than Mike Pompeo and some of his friends, and we remember our friends," he said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Addressing Pompeo, Netanyahu said, "You are part of our mishpacha," using the Hebrew term for family.

Asserting a Palestinian state would never be established, Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Gatz informed Pompeo Israelis in Judea and Samaria sought to thank him for saying "this holy land belongs to our nation."

"You are doing what God wanted you to do," Gatz told Pompeo, The Jerusalem Post reported.

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Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib sparked controversy Monday and drew accusations of anti-Semitism after criticizing President-elect Joe Biden's appointment for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken.

After former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' campaign manager praised the appointment, calling Blinken a "solid choice," Tlaib took to Twitter and wrote: "So long as he doesn't suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu's racist and inhumane policies. The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice."

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Tlaib was accused of criticizing the choice of Blinken because he is Jewish. CNN reporter Jake Tapper tweeted: "Blinken and Biden are both on the record opposing efforts to punish/sanction BDS (though they also oppose BDS) so I'm not sure what it is about Blinken that would prompt this tweet."

So long as he doesn't suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu's racist and inhumane policies. The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice. https://t.co/SLhT3yYc4i

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 23, 2020

Dov Hinkind, founder of the group Americans Against Antisemitism, tweeted, "Biden names a Jew to his cabinet … What's Rashida's response?! "Welp, as long as that Judische pick doesn't stop me from focusing my hatred on one country, Israel, then he's a good Jew! It's not your 1A [first amendment] right you're trying to protect but your vile Jew-hatred!"

Biden names a Jew to his cabinet

What's Rashida's response?! "Welp, as long as that Judische pick doesn't stop me from focusing my hatred on one country, Israel, then he's a good Jew!"

It's not your 1A right you're trying to protect but your vile Jew-hatred!

That's ALL yours! https://t.co/JegzY5ZCtm

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) November 23, 2020

The Republican Jewish Coalition posted a slightly tongue-in-cheek response, telling Tlaib she could "just say [she] was worried because Blinken is Jewish."

On Sunday, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Biden was slated to make the official announcement about Blinken's appointment on Tuesday.

You can just say you're worried because he's Jewish... https://t.co/TdZL8BwrhB

— RJC (@RJC) November 23, 2020

Blinken, 58, has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations over 20 years.

In 2008, he was a member of the Obama-Biden presidential transition team. From 2009 to 2013 he served as deputy assistant to the president and national security advisor to the vice president.

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