{"id":617535,"date":"2026-09-16T05:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/617535\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T05:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:48:12","slug":"huckabee-america-has-never-defended-israel-only-its-own-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/617535\/","title":{"rendered":"Huckabee: America has never defended Israel, only its own interests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two objects in U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee\u2019s<\/a> Jerusalem office tell much of the story. In one corner stands a black bass guitar, the instrument he plays every Sunday with his church band. <\/p>\n

On a nearby wall hangs a map taken from a classroom in Gaza: a map of \u201cPalestine\u201d topped by a Kalashnikov emblem, with Israel and all its cities erased. Between those two objects, the believer\u2019s guitar and the map of an enemy, sits the man who over the past year and a half has become one of the most openly pro-Israel American ambassadors in recent memory.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05e7<\/a>\"\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05e7<\/p>\n

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)<\/p>\n

When it comes to defending Israel, Huckabee does not hesitate. There is an intensity to the way he makes Israel\u2019s case that can be difficult to find even among official Israeli spokespeople. He reaches for arguments that are not part of the standard political script: the growth of Israel\u2019s Christian population from 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 200,000 today; Arab doctors heading departments at Hadassah Medical Center and supervising Jewish staff; and the fact that his own wife was treated by an Arab doctor and a Jewish doctor who have worked together for 20 years. \u201cSo if that\u2019s apartheid, they\u2019re not good at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked what the United States would be prepared to do to defend Israel in a broader regional war, Huckabee turned the premise of the question on its head. \u201cAmerica has never defended Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cNot one time since 1948 has America ever put boots on the ground for Israel.\u201d When Washington acts against Iran, he argued, it is not defending Israel but protecting its own interests. \u201cWhen we are partnering against Iran, we\u2019re not defending Israel, we\u2019re defending the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cIsrael is maybe the appetizer, but we\u2019re the entree.\u201d For nearly 50 years, he added, Tehran has been saying \u201cdeath to America,\u201d and Washington should take that threat seriously. In Huckabee\u2019s view, the United States is not simply supporting Israel but partnering with it because that partnership also serves American interests.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Trump had been misled into believing the war with Iran would end in regime collapse, Huckabee was emphatic. \u201cI disagree with the idea that he was nudged in or led or pushed or deceived. That simply didn\u2019t happen.\u201d He said he was in the White House Situation Room when the decision was made on Operation Roaring Lion. \u201cA lot of what happened in that room I cannot disclose because it was classified. Someday maybe I\u2019ll write a book and tell the whole story, but I don\u2019t leak,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody pushed President Trump into anything. Nobody misled him into anything.\u201d Israel, he stressed, never pressured Trump to intervene. \u201cHe did it from his own volition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huckabee was more cautious about what comes next with Tehran. \u201cI can\u2019t predict what might happen in terms of a kinetic military activity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be made in Washington by the president.\u201d But he said Iran is now \u201cthe weakest that they have been probably in 47 and a half years,\u201d both militarily and economically, and is \u201cgrowing weaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his view, the American definition of victory is clear: no Iranian nuclear weapon, no uranium enrichment and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with possible limits on Tehran\u2019s missile capabilities as well. Huckabee said Iran had expanded its missile range from 2,000 kilometers to 4,100 kilometers in a single year. \u201cFrom Iran they can hit London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Rome, Athens. Pretty much all of Europe,\u201d he said. \u201cI was shocked that there was not a greater level of reaction from throughout Europe when that was evident once they hit Cyprus.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump as \u201cstill strong and solid.\u201d The two continue to speak regularly, he said, and maintain a personal relationship built over years. Huckabee portrayed ties between Washington and Jerusalem as unusually close. \u201cWe\u2019re partners. We work incredibly close together, more than most people will ever, ever understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Israel\u2019s approaching election, Huckabee was more guarded, particularly after earlier comments about a possible national unity government drew accusations of US interference in Israeli politics. \u201cThe US policy would be that\u2019s a decision for the voters of Israel to make,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the US position to say this is how the government ought to look after October any more than it would be for Israel to say this is who we want you to vote for.\u201d Whether Israelis return the current government, produce a different coalition under the same leadership or elect an entirely different government, Huckabee said the relationship will endure. \u201cOur relationship to Israel is not built upon the next election, it\u2019s built upon our mutual interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how the US midterm elections could affect ties with Israel, Huckabee said: \u201cI\u2019d like to believe that people in America largely, mostly recognize Israel is an incredibly valuable, important strategic partner, not just an ally, but a partner.\u201d He pointed to cooperation during Operation Roaring Lion, saying Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, had told him there had never been a US military operation with such seamless coordination.<\/p>\n

Ten days earlier, Huckabee visited Turmus Ayya in the West Bank, where he used his phone to film extremist settlers who entered a Palestinian family\u2019s property in a security vehicle while he stood at the family\u2019s home. Huckabee said he distributed the footage widely but would not disclose Trump\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05e7<\/a>\"\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05e7<\/p>\n

Huckabee visiting Turmus Ayya in the West Bank <\/p>\n

(Photo: REUTERS\/Ammar Awad)<\/p>\n

He acknowledged being surprised that the men entered the Palestinian property while his security detail and the media were present. \u201cIt was one of those things that I felt like people needed to understand,\u201d he said. The individual, he said, \u201cwas not protecting or guarding his property. He was actually encroaching on someone else\u2019s.\u201d Huckabee added: \u201cIt\u2019s perfectly legitimate to protect your own property. That\u2019s something every person has a right to do. But what they don\u2019t have a right to do is to go to someone else\u2019s property and to drive around on it and to potentially intimidate or frighten people as to why you\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed, however, that he does not attribute such acts to settlers as a whole. \u201cI have never attributed all of these actions to settlers,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, I say they\u2019re not settlers, they\u2019re unsettlers.\u201d Many of those involved, he added, do not live in the West Bank at all.<\/p>\n

Huckabee said he remains convinced that \u201cprobably 99.9%\u201d of residents of West Bank settlements are responsible people. \u201cPeople have built beautiful communities,\u201d he said, citing Ma\u2019ale Adumim and Efrat. \u201cThey\u2019re just wonderful places where people live and they just want to raise their families.\u201d He also criticized international media coverage that, in his view, too quickly labels anything that happens in the West Bank as \u201cextreme settler violence.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s not accurate,\u201d he said, adding that such coverage unfairly \u201cbesmirches\u201d the people who live there.<\/p>\n

On cases involving American citizens harmed in the West Bank, Huckabee acknowledged the limits of Washington\u2019s authority. \u201cWe are guests in a foreign country,\u201d he said. \u201cThe US government does not have the authority to investigate criminal activity or adjudicate criminal activity.\u201d What Washington can do, he said, is exert influence, draw attention to cases and demand investigations and consequences. He cited one case in which an investigation was complicated because a Palestinian family declined, on religious grounds, to allow an autopsy. \u201cI respect that may have been on religious grounds,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the failure to have a forensic autopsy makes the investigation very challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huckabee rejected calls by Israeli ministers to encourage mass migration from Gaza, but he was equally critical of efforts to prevent Gazans who want to leave from doing so. \u201cI know of no one in a position of genuine authority who is for the forced displacement of anyone in Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also find it incredible that some people seem to be in favor of forcing people to stay in Gaza who would like to leave. Why would there be such a desire to imprison people and to hold them hostage in a place that they no longer wish to live?\u201d Huckabee said he had heard both Netanyahu and Trump address the issue directly. \u201cEveryone that I have heard, from the prime minister to the president, has been crystal clear: no one\u2019s going to be forced to leave. But neither should anyone be forced to remain who would like to leave and start a new life somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05d4\u05d0\u05e7\u05d1\u05d9,<\/a>\"\u05d4\u05d0\u05e7\u05d1\u05d9,<\/p>\n

On Hamas disarmament, Huckabee was categorical. Since the October 2025 ceasefire, he said, Hamas has not surrendered a single weapon. \u201cNot one gun, not one bullet, not one bomb, not one rocket.\u201d He added: \u201cThey have no intention of voluntarily doing it. At least they haven\u2019t given any demonstration of it.\u201d At the same time, Huckabee pointed to what he described as progress on the humanitarian front: 600 to 700 trucks carrying humanitarian and medical assistance entering Gaza every day, one million doses of polio vaccine supplied to Gaza, and a population he said had grown by 4% annually. \u201cHow do you commit genocide when you\u2019re sending 700 trucks of supplies and food in?\u201d he asked. \u201cIsrael deserves credit for ensuring that happens. They don\u2019t get the credit. They\u2019re accused of genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huckabee also addressed talks in which he is involved over a new US-Israel security memorandum of understanding expected to take effect in 2028. The next agreement, he said, is already being developed, after Netanyahu proposed rethinking the structure of US financial assistance, much of which ultimately returns to the United States through Israeli purchases of American military equipment.<\/p>\n

Asked about the sharp decline in support for Israel among Americans, Huckabee said he believes much of it stems from misinformation. \u201cI think most of it is misinformation, because I would ask myself, what are they critical of?\u201d He rejected accusations of apartheid, pointing to Israel\u2019s Arab population and Arab participation in public life. \u201cTwenty percent of the population is Arab. Arabs serve in the Knesset. Arabs sometimes are the CEO of the largest bank in Israel. Arabs are on the Supreme Court. Arabs serve in the military,\u201d he said. \u201cThey vote, so it\u2019s nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

On hostility toward Christians in Israel, Huckabee said: \u201cI live here. I\u2019ve been coming here for 53 years. I\u2019m a Christian. I\u2019ve never been heckled. I\u2019ve never been spat upon.\u201d He acknowledged isolated incidents but said they should not be used to characterize an entire country. \u201cYou cannot blame a country of 10 million people for the actions of a very small minority of thugs who do terrible things,\u201d he said, adding that such incidents are widely condemned in Israel.<\/p>\n

On possible normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Huckabee said \u201conly the Saudis can answer that,\u201d but expressed hope that Riyadh would look to the United Arab Emirates and the benefits it has gained through the Abraham Accords. He cited \u201cincreased trade, increased tourism, decreased hostilities, better educational environment for everyone\u201d and greater acceptance and tolerance. \u201cA person can walk around Abu Dhabi, Dubai wearing a yarmulke and nobody\u2019s going to attack them or even scream at them,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they\u2019re the gold standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he supports a two-state solution included in Trump\u2019s 20-point plan, Huckabee answered cautiously. \u201cIt\u2019s a great question, but it\u2019s not one that I have the solid answer to because I don\u2019t get to make the policy that determines it,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the president makes a firm decision about that, I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d He then pointed to what he described as a long history of Palestinian leaders rejecting Israeli peace offers. In Huckabee\u2019s view, opportunities dating back to Yasser Arafat were repeatedly turned down.<\/p>\n

Asked whether he could ever be required, as ambassador, to deliver a message to the Israeli government that he personally disagreed with, Huckabee did not hesitate. \u201cSure, that\u2019s part of being an ambassador. You don\u2019t make the policy, you carry it out.\u201d He illustrated the point with an analogy. \u201cI\u2019m not the chemist. I don\u2019t get to make the medicine and concoct the formula. I\u2019m the pharmacist. I take the medicine that I\u2019m given and I dispense it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I\u2019m given an instruction by my president to deliver a message, it\u2019s not my job to argue with the president or to agree or disagree. It\u2019s my job to carry out what I\u2019m here to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That led to the question of what Trump would do if Israel faced a genuine existential threat, even at the cost of direct confrontation with Iran or another major power. \u201cThat\u2019s a loaded question,\u201d Huckabee said with a smile. \u201cI can only answer if it was in America\u2019s best interest, the president would act. But that\u2019s what he\u2019s required to do.\u201d He said Trump had already made that calculation twice during Huckabee\u2019s tenure, first by sending B-2 bombers against Iran and then during Operation Roaring Lion. \u201cHe didn\u2019t do that because Israel was over here begging, saying, \u2018Please help us, we can\u2019t handle it,\u2019\u201d Huckabee said. \u201cIsrael never begged anything. Israel never pushed President Trump into engaging. He did it from his own volition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did it because he sees Iran as a threat to America and to Americans,\u201d Huckabee said, adding that Trump is also mindful of the roughly 700,000 American citizens living in Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two objects in U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee\u2019s Jerusalem office tell much of the story. In one corner stands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-617535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}