US envoy ties Israel’s heritage to America’s founding

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday urged Americans to recognize Israel’s biblical heritage as a foundation of the United States, speaking at the opening of an international archaeology conference at the Herodium site in Judea and Samaria.

He said it is his job “to represent the importance of Israel to the United States,” adding that “without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there would not be an America. We owe our very existence to what happened in this land.”

The remarks were delivered amid questions in Jerusalem about an agreement between Washington and Tehran announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday and recent comments made by the president about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli actions in Lebanon.

“Without the United States, there would be no Israel,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday. “Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did. I have had a great relationship with Bibi [Netanyahu]. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Huckabee said he would recommend Trump visit heritage sites in Judea and Samaria if he travels to Israel, calling such a tour “something spectacular” that the president should not miss.

Huckabee’s comments came as hundreds of officials, diplomats and scholars gathered for the opening of the second International Conference on Israeli Heritage and Antiquities in Judea and Samaria, which runs through Friday and is backed by Israel’s Heritage Ministry.