U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Monday that biblical illiteracy is “killing America” and urged pastors not to be afraid to speak out in support of the Jewish state.
The unequivocal remarks by the pastor-turned-diplomat come as international support for Israel has declined amid the fallout from the regional wars sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, with some pastors reluctant to address what has become a divisive issue.
“Too many pastors in America are fearful that if they speak about Israel it might be divisive in their own church,” Huckabee said in a Jerusalem address to the evangelical organization Bridges for Peace. “Well, if we are going to divide people, let’s at least divide them over something worth the division.”
‘Be bold, be brave’
In an impassioned address laced with biblical references, the U.S. envoy urged the group of international pastors visiting Israel to “speak truth” about the Jewish state and not be intimidated by their congregations or political correctness, citing God’s covenant with the Jewish people.
“Go home and challenge something that is killing America and killing the faith in America and that is biblical illiteracy,” Huckabee said. “Go home, be bold, be brave but most of all be biblical.”
The staunchly pro-Israel Baptist pastor, former governor, television host and two-time Republican presidential candidate has emerged as one of the most impassioned international supporters of the Jewish state during his year and a half as U.S. ambassador, a period marked by regional tensions and wars on multiple fronts.
‘The Bible in 4K color’
Before his appointment, Huckabee visited Israel scores of times and led thousands of Christians on solidarity tours over the past half-century, beginning with his first trip to the Jewish state shortly after high school, just before the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
He told the Christian group that walking in the land of the Bible was an unparalleled experience.
“If you’ve read the Bible for all of your life, you read it in black and white until you came here,” he said. “Once you’ve been here, you go home and read it in 4K color for the rest of your life.”
