On Wednesday, the US Senate voted 53 to 46 to confirm Gov. Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel.
President Trump enthusiastically praised the confirmation of Huckabee from the Oval Office, saying, “[He will] bring home the bacon…even though bacon isn’t too big in Israel,” the POTUS quipped.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the confirmation of his “great friend,” saying it was a “great day for the Israeli-American alliance.”
Huckabee responded: “Thank you @IsraeliPM and I look forward to working with you as we pray for the ‘Peace of Jerusalem!’”
A strong supporter of Israel, Huckabee was named by the Jerusalem Post the second most influential Zionist in America in 2024.
Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, is the first non-Jew appointed to the post since President George W. Bush appointed James Cunningham in 2008. There are nine Jewish members of the U.S. Senate — all Democrats or independents — and none of them voted for Huckabee. Huckabee faced stiff opposition from Democrats who opposed his faith-based support of Israel.
In a video posted on social media, Huckabee explains his devotion to Israel: “You can be Jewish and have nothing whatsoever to do with Christians, but I can’t be a Christian and not have everything to do with the Jewish people, the Jewish faith, the Scriptures. Everything I believe is built on the foundation of that, so for me — and most evangelicals would say the same thing — we are people of the book. It’s simple.”
On her Twitter account, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated, “The most important lesson my dad @GovMikeHuckabee ever taught me is to be who God created me to be. I could not be any more proud of my dad for returning to public service as Ambassador to Israel, and fulfilling the purpose God has for him.”
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, released the following statement:
“On behalf of the World Jewish Congress, I congratulate Mike Huckabee on his confirmation and look forward to supporting him as he heads to Jerusalem for this important assignment at a historic moment. His appointment continues the Trump administration’s clear commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance at a time of both great challenges and opportunities.
“I am confident that as envoy to Israel, Ambassador Huckabee will remain committed to enhancing the unique bond between both nations while keeping demands for the release of the hostages held by Hamas at the top of the agenda. Their continued captivity is a daily stain on the conscience of the international community, and every available channel must be used to bring them home.
Huckabee has gone on record as opposing the “two-state solution.” Huckabee is a strong supporter of Israel, opposing Palestinian statehood. In a 2015 interview with The Washington Post, he stated, “The idea that they have a long history, dating back hundreds or thousands of years, is not true.”
He opposes the Two State Solution, a political agenda that would create an unprecedented militarized Arab state inside the borders of Israel that has been ethnically cleansed of Jews with its exclusively Muslim capital in Jerusalem. In its place, he supports Israel expressing sovereignty over the land conquered in the defensive 1967 Six-Day War. He has suggested that a “Palestinian State” could be established in neighboring countries like Egypt, Syria, or Jordan, rather than within Israel’s borders, where far more Palestinians already live.
In 2017, at an event in Samaria, he stated: “There is no such thing as a West Bank – it’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities. They’re neighborhoods. They’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
He has also rejected the concept of Palestinian identity, asserting that it was “a political tool to try and force land away from Israel.”
“Basically, there really is no such thing as — I need to be careful about saying this, because people will really get upset — there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” Huckabee said at a 2008 campaign stop in Massachusetts while speaking to two Orthodox Jewish men. “There’s not.”
