Trump picks Evangelical leader former Arkansas Gov Mike Huckabee as next US ambassador to Israel
‘Mike has been a great public servant, Governor and Leader in Faith… he will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!’ read the announcement
President-elect Donald J. Trump has announced the nomination of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Trump said in a statement released by the Trump-Vance transition on Tuesday.
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel in the Evangelical community.
Following the outbreak of the war with Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, he led a Christian solidarity delegation to Israel along with ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg. The two of them also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December.
Huckabee hosts a weekly program on TBN and often appears as a contributor on Fox News. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, competing against Trump.
His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders served in Trump’s first administration as White House press secretary and is currently the governor of Arkansas.
Former Trump administration Ambassador to Israel David Friedman hailed the choice, writing on X: “It speaks volumes to the importance and priority that President Trump places on the US - Israel relationship that he selected his Ambassador to Israel within one week of his election. And the selection itself – Mike Huckabee is one of Israel’s greatest friends – tells us that the days of public daylight between the US and Israel are about to end!”
Mike Huckabee 🇺🇸❤️🇮🇱
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) November 12, 2024
Huckabee’s nomination is the latest in a series of appointments made by President-elect Donald Trump that are viewed as pro-Israel. The selection of Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Rep. Michael Waltz as national security advisor, and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador demonstrates what many Israeli analysts see as the incoming administration, potentially even more supportive of Israeli interests than that of Trump's first term.
Following Trump’s announcement, prominent Israeli accounts on 𝕏 have welcomed Huckabee’s nomination by posting highlights of some of his past remarks about Israel.
.@GovMikeHuckabee, new US 🇺🇲 Ambassador to Israel 🇮🇱:
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 12, 2024
“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing ‘West Bank’ — it is Judea and Samaria. There is no such thing ‘settlement’ — these are communities. There is no such thing ‘occupation’” pic.twitter.com/TScpCXmVno
"There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as the West Bank – it's Judea and Samaria. There is no such thing as settlements – they're communities, they're neighborhoods, they're cities. There is no such thing as an occupation."
In sharp contrast to the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, Huckabee believes that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is mainly a “diplomatic fantasy.”
Addressing the likelihood of a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, Huckabee told News Nation in August: “There’s no valid reason to have a cease-fire with Hamas. They’re not capable of having an honorable negotiation.”
“This is like trying to negotiate with the Nazis in World War II. You just don’t,” he said. “You beat them. You defeat them. You eradicate them.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
