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Mike Huckabee is a former Arkansas governor, a devout evangelical Christian, and a Baptist preacher. And now he will be the next American ambassador to Israel. In recent years, he has led groups of Christians on ten-day tours of Biblical sites in Israel. His last trip was this past May, when his “Israel Experience” trip was described thus online:
Experience firsthand the land of the Old Testament and the Gospels!
For believers, a visit to Israel is more than just a trip to a fascinating foreign country – it’s an opportunity to experience the complex and beautiful Holy Land that was the setting for the teachings, the battles, and the miracles of the Bible.
During your Israel Experience trip, you’ll walk where Jesus walked, sit atop the Mount of Beatitudes, and pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. You’ll see where He performed miracles, and you’ll stand in the empty Garden Tomb. You’ll experience the Sea of Galilee and be baptized in the Jordan River. You’ll explore Old City Jerusalem, gaze out from Masada, and swim in the Dead Sea. The Bible will come alive for you as never before.
You’ll learn about Israel’s heritage from both a Biblical and a historical perspective. You’ll hear from top Israeli officials about the strategic place Israel holds today and why America is such a valuable ally to her.
As both an evangelical Christian and as a professional guide to Israel’s Biblical sites, Huckabee is keenly aware that the Jewish people have been in the Land of Israel for 3500 years. After all, he’s been showing Jewish sites for many years, with a special focus on Jerusalem. He “loves Israel and he loves the people of Israel,” as Donald Trump has said. And in Israel there is jubilation, especially on the West Bank, that Huckabee will be the new American ambassador. More on Huckabee’s appointment can be found here: “American Jewish Organizations React to Trump’s Choice for US Ambassador to Israel,” by Jack Elbaum, Algemeiner, November 13, 2024:
American Jewish organizations were quick to react to US President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he would choose former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the next US ambassador to Israel after he assumes office in January….
Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), posted on X on Tuesday that his organization “looks forward to working with Gov. Huckabee and newly appointed Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff to strengthen the US-Israel relationship, bolster Israel-diaspora relations, and promote strong connections between American Jewry and Israel.”
Other Jewish communal organizations, such as the Jewish Federations of North America and the Anti-Defamation League, have so far not made statements.
The Republican Jewish Committee (RJC) said it was “thrilled” with the choice. “As a man of deep faith,” the RJC wrote, “we know Governor Huckabee’s abounding love of Israel and its people is second to none.”
It continued, “As the Jewish state continues to fight an existential war for survival against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Governor Huckabee will represent America’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security with distinction.”
On the other side, however, the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) called Huckabee “utterly unqualified for this role” and argued that “his extremist views with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not further the national security interests of the United States or advance prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”…
The JDCA is a far-left group that thinks Huckabee’s views are “extremist” because he has chosen to recognize Israel’s right to hold onto Judea and Samaria. According to the JDCA, Huckabee is “utterly unqualified” for this role, even though, or possibly because, he happens to have repeatedly visited the Jewish state, has studied the history of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, is an expert guide to its Biblical sites, and dares to recognize Israel’s claim to Judea and Samaria, based both on 3500 years of Jewish history in the land, and on the relevant international law, the League of Nations’ Mandate for Palestine, that assigned all the territory “from the river to the sea”— the Jordan River, the Mediterranean Sea — to Mandatory Palestine, which was intended in time to become the Jewish state.
Huckabee told Israel’s Army Radio in his first interview since the announcement of his ambassadorship that “of course” the annexation of the West Bank is a possibility during Trump’s second presidential term.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to the US-Israel relationship,” the JDCA concluded, “Donald Trump will continue to only be motivated by his own narrow self-interest, and we’re deeply concerned about what that means for the United States and Israel.”
Apparently the JCDA thinks that only “self-interest” could explain Trump’s support for Israel. But what “self-interest” is that? Trump doesn’t have to pay back Jewish voters — in his presidential race, most Jewish voters went for Harris. If anything, you might expect Trump to “get even” with those voters by coming down hard on Israel. Yet in his first term, he moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, that had been part of Israel since 1981. He cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. He cut off aid to UNRWA. He shut down the PLO office in Washington. And he withdrew from the Iran deal and reimposed harsh sanctions on Tehran. And after all that, most Jewish voters still voted for Trump’s opponent. When Trump appoints people who are known as stout defenders of Israel, it’s because he, too, is a defender of the Jewish state, not out of “self-interest” — he’s just run his last race — but because he believes it is right to support the lone Jewish state against its many enemies. And so does Mike Huckabee. This is something the JCDA can’t tolerate. This far-left group will support Israel only if it agrees to be squeezed back within the 1949 armistice lines, as part of that “two-state solution” that has mesmerized so many.
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