Opinion
Why Huckabee is a great choice for US ambassador to Israel
Beyond strong Christian support, Huckabee has experience building bridges with some American Jews
March 25, 2025 09:26
2 min read
Beyond strong Christian support, Huckabee has experience building bridges with some American Jews
March 25, 2025 09:26For the first time since George W. Bush, a non-Jew is poised to represent the United States in Israel. Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden dispatched Jeiwsh ambassadors to needle Israel, but President Donald Trump’s nominee would be a rock-ribbed friend to the Jewish state.
Mike Huckabee is a Christian Zionist, former Southern Baptist minister, and former governor of Arkansas. After his nomination was announced last November, Huckabee cited Genesis 12:3 (“I will bless those who bless you/And curse the one who curses you)” in an interview with The Charlie Kirk Show. In 2015, JTA reported that Huckabee considered “his connection to Israel . . . ‘visceral, personal.’” And according to Christianity Today, Huckabee has travelled to Israel “more than 100 times.” In short, Huckabee has decades of experience with Israel, which helps explain his numerous and enthusiastic supporters.
Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, who has “known Gov. Huckabee for decades,” told me Huckabee “is a good friend, great leader, and honourable man of faith. He believes Huckabee has a deep and nuanced understanding of the Middle East – both its modern history and its Biblical foundations.”
Hagee expects that Huckabee “will be an important part of implementing the robust, pro-Israel agenda upon which the Trump administration began in its first administration and will take to new heights in its second.”
Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project, another Christian group, adds that Huckabee’s selection is "a strategic choice.” Moon observes, “His love for Israel is rooted in his love for the Bible and [the] people who brought the Bible to the world. He will help further the blossoming relationship between Christians and Jews. Secondly, because Huckabee is not Jewish, he will potentially not get caught up in the intra-Jewish politics. He can bow out of issues that arise by saying, ‘I'm not Jewish, so I don't really have anything to say on that matter.’” That second part is surely helpful for a diplomat.
Huckabee has some detractors, though. CUFI Action Fund chairwoman Sandra Hagee Parker commented, “While we would never presume to predict final vote tallies, we have every confidence Governor Huckabee’s nomination would sail through the Senate. While we’ve heard some rumours of opposition, all seem to be rooted in either opposition to American support for Israel, or rank partisanship – neither of which justifies denying the American people a highly capable emissary to the Jewish state.”
Beyond strong Christian support, Huckabee has experience building bridges with American Jewry. American Jews never unanimously agree on anything, but Huckabee has already established trust and lasting relationships.
The Republican Jewish Coalition’s November press release congratulating Huckabee on his nomination called the governor “a long-time friend.” B’nai Brith International said: “The choice of Huckabee shows the incoming administration’s commitment to further strengthening the special U.S.-Israel alliance.” And more recently, the Zionist Organisation of America released their February letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describing Huckabee as “a great American patriot and friend of the Jewish people, and a man of sterling character and compassion, with widely-praised executive abilities,” urging Huckabee’s confirmation.
In preparation for his hearing, Huckabee prayed and affirmed his connection with the Jewish community. Chabad announced that Huckabee, “a long-time friend of the Jewish people,” and his wife, Janet, “visited the Ohel, the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, in Queens, NY” on Sunday. The Huckabees were accompanied by leaders from the Israel Heritage Foundation, which honoured them at a Sunday event.
Chabad explained, “Huckabee has enjoyed a two-decade long relationship with Rabbi Pinchus and Esther Hadassah Ciment, directors of Chabad-Lubavitch in his home state of Arkansas. In 1996 Huckabee became the state’s first governor to join Chabad’s public Chanukah menorah lighting in Little Rock,” and last year, Huckabee “substituted for his daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders—the current governor.”
Huckabee is admittedly an unorthodox choice. Unlike other ambassadors, Huckabee’s appointment isn’t based on State Department service or political contributions, but rather a lifetime of preparation for this particular role. Huckabee clearly loves his country, has a record of honourable service, and feels a strong bond of friendship with close American ally Israel. This should be an easy call.