President-elect Donald Trump has announced the nomination of his former 2016 Republican primary election opponent Mike Huckabee to the post of United States ambassador to Israel. Huckabee, a longtime supporter of Israeli annexation of the West Bank and a longtime leader in the evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party, was chosen by Trump as the U.S. ally wages multiple conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and Syria.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel…”, Trump wrote via his TruthSocial platform on Tuesday. “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,” a statement attached to Trump’s TruthSocial post read. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
Huckabee, who served as Arkansas governor from 1996 to 2007, also made two unsuccessful bids for president during the 2008 and 2016 Republican primary campaigns. His daughter, current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, also served as Trump’s press secretary for part of his first term as president, from 2017 to 2019.
Huckabee is noted for his Evangelical Christian faith, which he ties closely to his policies and beliefs on Israel, declaring on several occasions that the occupied West Bank is biblically part of Israeli territory. “There are certain words I refuse to use. 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 neighbourhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation,” he said on CNN in 2017.
In 2015, during his run for president, Huckabee attended a fundraiser for American citizens in the Israeli settlement of Shiloh, describing the West Bank, which he again referred to as “Judea and Samaria”, the territory’s biblical name – as a fundamental part of Israel. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel signals more about his potential policy towards the US ally in his second term, with many expecting him to go even further than current President Joe Biden in his support for Israel as it wages war on Gaza and Lebanon. Biden has consistently refused to punish Israel for killing tens of thousands in its wars, amid global calls for it to stop. However, he did reinstate a policy Trump rescinded that terms Israeli settlements like the one Huckabee visited in 2015 “illegitimate”.
Last week, days after Trump was again elected president, Israel tapped Yechiel Leiter, a staunch supporter of settlements in the West Bank, as ambassador to the US. Trump this week also appointed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, another staunch supporter of Israel who gained national attention during congressional hearings earlier this year about the handling of pro-Palestinian protests at elite US universities, as UN ambassador. The incoming president’s cabinet will have an even more pro-Isreal look to it if Trump picks Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, as appears likely. Rubio has had a hawkish stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed at least 43,665 people, telling an activist in 2023 that he did not support a ceasefire and that Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for the deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. He then supported Trump’s plan to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators to get them to “behave”.
Israeli politicians are positioning themselves for a Trump presidency, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying on Monday that he hoped the president-elect would recognise the illegal annexation of Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank. In his first term, Trump went against longstanding policy and moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, the eastern half of which is occupied Palestinian territory, and also recognised the illegal annexation of the occupied Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory. However, Trump attracted some support from Arab Americans after he visited communities in Michigan and promised to achieve peace in the Middle East.
Trump’s Pick for Israel Ambassador Stirs Controversy
President-elect Donald Trump named Mike Huckabee as his ambassador to Israel, picking an evangelical Christian who favors Jewish sovereignty in parts of the West Bank and who, if confirmed, would be the first non-Jew to fill the role in 13 years. “I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump said Tuesday in a statement. “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!”
The nomination may be seen in Israel as a boost for long-delayed plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex parts of the West Bank. In 2008, Huckabee said, “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.” In his run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Huckabee had said he saw the West Bank as an “integral part” of Israel and vowed to back settlement expansion there. Huckabee dropped out early and endorsed Trump in that election, stumping for him with enthusiasm, even when visiting Israel.
Reaction from Israeli Officials
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, tweeted Huckabee’s name alongside images of the American and Israeli flags with a heart emoji between them. Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister whose portfolio includes West Bank settlements, has in the wake of Trump’s election victory launched plans to annex parts of the territory — though former Trump administration officials have reportedly warned that the incoming president may not support annexation.
Huckabee's Stance on Israel
Christians United for Israel, the preeminent evangelical pro-Israel movement, welcomed the pick. “There is no better person to represent the American people in Jerusalem at this time,” said Sandra Hagee Parker, the chairwoman of the CUFI Action Fund. “Gov. Mike Huckabee believes in Israel’s right to self-determination and defense, not because it is politically convenient to do so but because these are immutable tenets of his core beliefs.”
J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy lobby, said the pick portended a turn away from peacemaking. “The mask is off,” its president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said in a statement. “This announcement is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from any concern for Jewish values, safety or self-determination.” Ben-Ami urged the outgoing Biden administration to take actions in its lame duck session to mitigate the changes coming. “Biden has a narrow window of opportunity to blunt the impact before he leaves office – he must use it,” he said.
A Look Back at Huckabee's History
A pastor by training who frequently leads evangelical Christian tours of the country, Huckabee once described his relationship to the country as “not so much political as it is visceral, personal.” Trump has repeatedly said that his actions on Israel in his first term, such as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, were better appreciated by evangelicals than Jews. Huckabee would be the first ambassador since 2011 who is not Jewish. The most recent was James B. Cunningham.
Potential Changes to Trump's Cabinet
The decision will put an end to speculation that Trump planned to once again tap David Friedman, his first-term ambassador and likewise a supporter of Israeli settlements, to the role. “I am thrilled by President Trump’s nomination of Governor Mike Huckabee as the next Ambassador to Israel,” Friedman said in a tweet. “He is a dear friend and he will have my full support. Congrats Mike on getting the best job in the world!” Huckabee’s appointment also consolidates the emerging impression that Trump is planning to sideline his entire national security team from his first term, even those who have remained on good terms with him, including Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of State.
Trump's Legacy in the Middle East
Trump’s ambassador to Israel during his first term, David Friedman, wrote on social media that Huckabee “is one of Israel’s greatest friends.” The Republican Jewish Coalition praised Trump’s pick, noting Huckabee’s “abounding love of Israel and its people is second to none.” “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,” the coalition said in a statement. Trump has promised to end the wars in the Middle East without saying how. He was a staunch defender of Israel during his previous term, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they have spoken three times since his reelection last week.
The Future of the U.S.-Israel Relationship
The nomination of Mike Huckabee as the U.S. ambassador to Israel is a significant development in the complex relationship between the two countries. Huckabee's strong support for Israeli settlements and his evangelical Christian faith are likely to shape his approach to the role. The appointment has been met with mixed reactions, with some praising his commitment to Israel and others expressing concerns about his stance on peace negotiations and the future of the Palestinian people. The coming months will be crucial for observing how Huckabee's appointment affects the U.S.-Israel relationship and the wider Middle East.
