Gumbo and Bandit, the dogs of U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his wife, dressed up ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is marked next week.
In a video published on the U.S. ambassador’s social media accounts on Thursday, Mike and Janet Huckabee dressed Gumbo and Bandit in the Israeli and American flag, respectively, as well as blue and red hats.
Gumbo and Bandit wishing everyone a happy Purim! pic.twitter.com/rdR9KqFyJF
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) February 26, 2026
“Two thousand three hundred years ago, God orchestrated through Queen Esther and Mordechai the salvation of the Jewish people and victory over their enemies in ancient Persia,” the U.S. envoy says in the video.
Purim celebrates the Jewish people’s deliverance in the Persian Empire during the fifth century BCE. The Scroll of Esther describes how the Persian viceroy, Haman the Agagite, plotted to annihilate the Jews.
Through a series of miraculous events, the Jews survived—and Haman ended up hanging on the gallows he had erected for his arch-enemy Mordechai the Jew.
Jewish law states that while most places celebrate Purim on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which this year falls out on March 2-3, cities that were surrounded by walls during Joshua’s conquest of the Land of Israel—mainly Jerusalem—observe the festival a day later.
“Janet and I want to wish all of our Jewish friends in Israel, America and all over the world a very happy Purim,” the ambassador says in the clip, adding: “Right, boys? Yeah! Happy Purim, everyone!”
The Huckabees got Gumbo—a Cavalier King Charles spaniel-Bichon mix—and Bandit—a Shih Tzu-Bichon mix—as puppies in 2022. The dogs left for Israel with the couple after Huckabee was confirmed as ambassador in Jerusalem in April 2025.
On Tuesday, Huckabee joined senior Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset, declaring that Israel remains Washington’s “true and unparalleled partner” amid regional instability and rising global antisemitism.
“There are many countries with which we have alliances,” explained the American ambassador. “But there is only one country in the world with which we have a true and unparalleled partnership, and that is Israel.”
