Trump Tapped Mike Huckabee To Be U.S. Ambassador To Israel. Christian Nationalists Are Thrilled.
After President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of Mike Huckabee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, prominent Christian nationalists — who see unwavering support for Israel as key to hastening Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ — were thrilled.
“There is no better person to represent the American people in Jerusalem at this time,” Sandra Hagee Parker, chairwoman of the political arm of the nonprofit Christians United For Israel, said in a statement posted to X. “@GovMikeHuckabee 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.”
CUFI is a far-right Christian Zionist organization that claims 8 million members in America and enjoys the support of many major Republican figures, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. Although CUFI’s support for Israel, and more specifically far-right Israeli politicians and settlers, is expressed as a love for Jews, the organization is also driven by evangelical Christians’ interpretation of Biblical end-times prophecy.
Pastor John Hagee, the group’s founder and Parker’s father, believes the return of Jews to Israel and the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands are necessary steps in bringing forth the end of the world, Jesus’ return to Earth, and the eventual rapture of Christians to Heaven. (There are different formulations about what happens to the Jews in Israel during this end-times scenario, but the prevailing theory is that they would have to mass-convert to Christianity to get to Heaven, or otherwise be doomed to Hell.)
This arguably antisemitic interpretation of scripture is widespread among American Christian evangelicals in America, including Huckabee. Now, as Israel’s assault on Gaza, made possible by U.S. money and weapons, continues at a frightening pace — killing over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the most conservative estimates — the country will soon enjoy the unwavering support of an evangelical Christian ambassador who has said that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.”
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas who ran twice for president, has more recently worked as the host of a talk show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He’s also known for leading Christian tours of Israel, and for his staunch support of illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
“There are certain words I refuse to use,” he said during a 2017 trip to Ma’ale Adumim, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank considered illegal under international law. “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 neighborhoods. They’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
“Judea and Samaria” are Biblical terms for the West Bank, and are frequently deployed by Christian and Jewish Zionists as a way of expressing their belief in Jews’ divine right to the Holy Land.
In 2008, Huckabee denied that Palestinians exist at all.
Speaking at a presidential campaign stop, according to a video unearthed by BuzzFeed, Huckabee said: “Basically, there really is no such thing as — I need to be careful about saying this, because people will really get upset — there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian. There’s not,” before adding: “You have Arabs and Persians, and there’s such complexity in that. But there’s really no such thing. That’s been a political tool to try and force land away from Israel.”
Such anti-Palestinian rhetoric has made him a leading figure among Christian Zionists in America.
“Congrats to my friend @GovMikeHuckabee on his nomination to become US Ambassador to Israel,” Sean Feucht, the prominent Christian nationalist and MAGA musician, wrote on X. “I met Mike for first time on the streets of Jerusalem many years ago. He openly shared his love & dedication to the Holy Land. What an EXCELLENT choice @realDonaldTrump.”
Tony Perkins, the anti-LGTBQ+ preacher who heads up the far-right Family Research Council, and who is a frequent traveler to Israel, also took time to congratulate his friend.
“What a remarkable time to have such a staunch ally and defender of Israel in that key role,” Perkins wrote on X. “Thank you Donald Trump for such a wise pick. I told Governor Huckabee earlier today that I would be praying for him. Will you join me?”
Extreme right-wing figures in Israel also hailed Huckabee’s nomination, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posting the words “Mike Huckabee” next to a heart emoji in between the Israeli and American flags.
Huckabee’s staunch support for Israel, and his denial of Palestinians’ existence, has gone hand-in-hand with an abiding Islamophobia. In 2011, arguing that Christians should not rent spaces in their churches to Muslims, Huckabee said “Muslim groups” believe “that Jesus Christ and all the people that follow him are a bunch of infidels who should be essentially obliterated.”
In 2013, he called Islam “a religion that promotes the most murderous mayhem on the planet in their so-called holiest days.” He added that “Muslims will go to the mosque, and they will have their day of prayer, and they come out of there like uncorked animals — throwing rocks and burning cars.”
In 2017, Huckabee supported Trump’s attempt to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
His nomination for ambassador was denounced by members of many religions this week.
“The mask is off,” the liberal American Zionist group J Street said in a statement, arguing that Huckabee’s appointment “is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from Jewish values, safety or self-determination.”
Munther Isaac, a Christian Palestinian priest, expressed concern over Huckabee’s support of illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
“Does he know that these settlements make the lives of Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians, a living hell?!” Isaac wrote. “Does he care about us to begin with?!”
