Mike Huckabee, whom U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated on Tuesday to ambassador to the Jewish state, told Israel’s Army Radio in his first interview since the announcement that “of course” the annexation of Judea and Samaria is a possibility under a second Trump White House.
While Huckabee said that he won’t be the one to “make the policy” but rather will “carry out the policy of the president,” he noted that the president-elect “already demonstrated in his first term that there’s never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel.”
Huckabee listed Trump’s first-term accomplishments on behalf of Israel, from moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
“No one has done more than President Trump,” he said.
In January 2020, Trump unveiled his “deal of the century,” a peace plan that would have seen Israel annex sizeable portions of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank.
The plan, which was overseen by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, ultimately encountered resistance from both sides of the conflict, including from Jews living in Judea and Samaria. The Yesha Council, a representative body of Israeli communities in that region, rejected the plan given it provided for a Palestinian state.
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist pastor and staunch supporter of Jewish rights to the Land of Israel, said, “On a personal level, this is an extraordinary opportunity to be able to represent my country to a land that I have loved since I first visited there in July of 1973.
“I cannot tell you what a joy it is to be able to serve in this capacity, and I hope that the confidence the president has put in me will be well-founded,” he said.
Trump, in announcing his choice, said Huckabee “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.”
An Arkansas governor for more than a decade, Huckabee sought the Republican nomination for president in 2008 and 2016.
His first trip to Israel was just after high school before the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He said he has since made “dozens and dozens” of trips to Israel and escorted tens of thousands of Americans to see the Jews’ ancient homeland.
In the wake of Hamas’s cross-border terrorist massacre in southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, 2023, Huckabee led evangelical leaders on a visit to the hard-hit communities along the border with the Gaza Strip.
“After 50 years of coming here, nothing has prepared me for this visit,” he said after walking through the charred remains of Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
He told JNS at the time that the ignorance so many Americans display about the war was a searing indictment of the educational system, which indoctrinates college students with a warped worldview.
In August 2018, Huckabee laid a ceremonial brick in the Israeli city of Efrat in Judea and said he might one day buy a “holiday home” there.
“If President Trump could be here today, he’d be a very happy man,” he stated at the time, standing in front of a red sign that read, “Build Israel Great Again.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition is “thrilled” with the nomination.
“As a man of deep faith, we know Gov. Huckabee’s abounding love of Israel and its people is second to none,” the RJC said. “As the Jewish state continues to fight an existential war for survival against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Gov. Huckabee will represent America’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security with distinction.”
David Friedman, who served as the U.S. envoy to Israel during Trump’s first presidency and was reportedly under consideration for the role again, stated that Huckabee is “a dear friend and he will have my full support.
“Congrats Mike on getting the best job in the world,” Friedman wrote.
“It speaks volumes to the importance and priority that President Trump places on the U.S.-Israel relationship that he selected his ambassador to Israel within one week of his election,” Friedman added. “The selection itself—Mike Huckabee is one of Israel’s greatest friends—tells us that the days of public daylight between the U.S. and Israel are about to end.”
