It’s Disgraceful That Huckabee is the U.S. Ambassador to Israel
John Mearsheimer, the University of Chicago professor, said in an interview Tuesday that it is a “disgrace” that a dyed-in-the-wool Christian Zionist like Mike Huckabee is the U.S. ambassador to Israel after the Baptist pastor said it would be “fine” if Israel steals more land in the Middle East, based on Biblical text.
Huckabee, an evangelical extremist, was asked by Tucker Carlson about the Bible’s Genesis 15, which The New York Times noted included God promising the descendants of Abraham “the lands from Egypt to the Euphrates River, in modern-day Iraq.”
Huckabee was asked if he agreed that the Israelis have a right to the land, and he responded that he would be “fine if they took it all.”
Huckabee told Carlson that Tel Aviv is not interested in claiming the land.
“They don’t want to take it over, they’re not asking to take it over,” he said.
Al Jazeera noted that Huckabee spent much of the interview referring to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” and justifying the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of all things Israel and has defended Tel Aviv’s land grab in the past. He said in previous interviews that Israel may be occupying the territory, but “it is an occupation of land that God gave them 3,500 years ago.”
Mearsheimer said it is hardly surprising that Huckabee believes Israel should own most of the territory in the Middle East, “but actually saying that when you are representing the Trump administration, when you are the U.S. ambassador to Israel, is quite remarkable.”
“Look, it’s a disgrace that this man is the U.S. ambassador to Israel, just like it’s a disgrace that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are the two principal diplomats dealing with Middle East issues,” he told Judge Andrew Napolitano’s Judging Freedom. “We should have people in those positions you have no attachment to Israel. The United States of America should have America-First people in those positions, and it does not.”
He said the idea that Witkoff and Kushner, “two ardent Zionists committed to Israel, are negotiating on our behalf with Iran — the truth is — it’s outrageous.”
Huckabee addressed a crowd in the West Bank in May and said, “You have sacrificed greatly to live in these places. You have paid in blood, sweat, and tears. This place is a miracle. Only the existence of God can explain your presence here. I believe in the Bible, and I have no faith without you. I owe you spiritual debt. The Jewish people are a revolution to the world in how to live in the world. Jewish existence represents living according to God’s rules, and that’s why so many people in the world want to kill Jews – because they want to kill God. You represent God’s presence and His choice in this land.”
Huckabee’s interview with Carlson should surprise no one, but received backlash from U.S. vassal states in the region.
The Hill reported that the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Egypt issued a joint statement that called the pastor’s comments “inflammatory” and a “flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region.”
The statement said, “These statements directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, as well as the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”
Iran said Huckabee’s comments would likely embolden Israel to take new “illegal measures against Palestinians as well as its constant aggression against the nations of the region,” according to NBC News.
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