A Strong Defender of Israel: Mike Huckabee Faces Senate Confirmation as Trump's Pick for Ambassador
President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, faced his confirmation hearing on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate.
The hearing came as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has collapsed after Hamas stopped negotiating for the release of more than 50 Israelis that the brutal terrorist group is still holding as hostages.
A staunch evangelical Christian and an outspoken supporter of Israel, Huckabee has openly supported Israel's right to annex the West Bank and integrate its population, referring to the region by its biblical name, "Judea and Samaria."
He has also rejected the proposal of the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine as a failed idea. In a past interview, he pointed out that the term "Palestinians" itself is a misnomer. "There really isn't such a thing," Huckabee said on the podcast Think Twice with Jonathan Tobin. "It was a term co-opted by Yasser Arafat in 1962," he said, referencing the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Huckabee's Prepared Remarks
In remarks prepared for his Senate testimony, Huckabee did not explicitly reference either Israeli annexation or Trump's Gaza policy. However, he had been expected to endorse both indirectly, criticizing past Middle East policies as "failures" and advocating for "entirely new ways" of achieving peace.
His statement highlighted Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and the signing of the Abraham Accords, which led to a stunning turnaround in the Middle East resulting in diplomatic normalization between Israel and multiple Arab nations, including the UAE and Bahrain.
"President Trump's first term was the most consequential for Israel and the Middle East ever, with his historic Abraham Accords and the long-overdue move of our embassy to Jerusalem—the ancient, indigenous, and biblical eternal capital of the Jewish people," Huckabee's remarks read.
Trump Praises Huckabee's Commitment to Israel
In a statement announcing Huckabee's nomination earlier this year, Trump praised his long-standing support for Israel. "He loves Israel and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him," Trump stated. "Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East."
Huckabee recently reinforced his commitment to Israel in an interview with CBN News' Wendy Griffith, emphasizing the biblical basis for his stance. "In Genesis 12, it says if you bless Israel, you'll be blessed. If you curse Israel, you'll be cursed. That's pretty clear," Huckabee said.
He also stressed the role his faith plays in his political outlook. "I know where I stand," he said. "And the reason I know is because I stand on the Word of God. I believe God is real, and His direction matters more than anything else in my life."
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has applauded Huckabee's nomination, writing previously on X, "Congrats, Mike, on getting the best job in the world."
Evangelical leader Joel Rosenberg also praised the appointment, saying it signaled Trump's unwavering support for Israel and his rejection of previous Middle East policies under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, both of whom Huckabee has strongly criticized.
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