Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who previously ran for U.S. president in the Republican primaries, is still processing President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement appointing him as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. "I'm just incredibly honored that the president would ask me to serve in this capacity," he told Army Radio Wednesday morning.
Huckabee spoke about his many visits to Israel, the first nearly 52 years ago. "On a personal level, this is an extraordinary opportunity to be able to represent my country to a land that I have loved since I first visited there in July of 1973. Having taken tens of thousands of Americans to see the land, I can't tell you what a joy it is to be able to serve in this capacity," he said.
He addressed the possibility that the incoming Trump administration would support the annexation and extension of Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.
"I have been a frequent visitor to Judea and Samaria, and I also firmly believe that the people of Israel deserve a safe country. Anything I can do to accommodate that that would be a big privilege for me." However, he clarified, "I won't make the policy, but I will execute the policy of the president, and he has already demonstrated in his first term that there has never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel. From the moving of the embassy to recognizing the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as the capital, no one has done more than President Trump – and I fully expect that to continue."
Concerning a return to the Gaza Strip, he was notably more cautious. "Today has been a pretty intense day, receiving literally hundreds of calls, emails, text messages, so, you know, I don’t want to make any comments about policy because those won't be mine to make," he said.
Huckabee, who will replace Amb. Jack Lew, a Joe Biden appointment, ran in the Republican presidential primaries in 2008, losing to John McCain, and eight years later losing to Trump. By training, he is an evangelical pastor, aligned with the Christian evangelical right in the U.S., and defines himself as a staunch supporter of Israel. He has also worked as a political commentator on Fox News.
Huckabee during his 2015 tour of the West Bank
In 2015, while running for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, Huckabee visited the ancient West Bank site of Shiloh, the site of the biblical tabernacle. "Judea and Samaria are an inseparable part of the State of Israel and everyone needs to understand that. Anyone running for the presidency of the United States should visit here," he said while at Shiloh, using the biblical designations for the West Bank.
In an interview with Ynet at the time he said that "Israel needs to control Judea and Samaria". He said, among other things, that Jewish settlement is "a factor leading to regional peace."
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