ByRUTH MARKS EGLASHJUNE 30, 2026 09:16If there's one person who might perfectly symbolizes the special relationship between the US and Israel at this fraught juncture in history, it’s US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.A former Arkansas governor and die-hard supporter of Israel who recognizes the power of the tiny Jewish state, Huckabee, who was hand-picked for the role by US President Donald Trump, believes firmly that America needs Israel as much as Israel needs America.Read More“I don’t think a lot of people understand that if there were not an Israel, there wouldn’t be a United States,” Huckabee told The Jerusalem Report in an exclusive interview in his Jerusalem office on the eve of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.“Israel is the foundation of Judaism, and Judaism is the foundation of Christianity,” said the ambassador, whose convictions are grounded in his evangelical Christian beliefs and who served as a pastor and a broadcaster before taking up public office.“The Judeo-Christian value system, upon which all of Western civilization is built, is really what gave rise to America, so there is a very real sense in which America can trace its roots to Jerusalem,” continued the ambassador, who takes great pride in his deep knowledge of the Bible and his own connection to the Land of Israel. He is often heard boasting proudly about his more than 100 visits to Israel before taking up his current role.In a show of his dedication to the Bible, almost an entire wall of the ambassador’s office is taken up with a colorful scene from the holy book, depicting the story of the spies sent by Moses to scout Canaan, a story, he says, his grandson can recite with ease even though most visitors do not immediately recognize the context.“I know it would surprise a lot of people, but if you look at it historically and from a standpoint of where American values really come from, they came from a God-centered, Judeo-Christian foundation that believes our purposes on earth are God-designed, not man-made; that our basic fundamental rights come from God, not man,” Huckabee said. Unwavering supportHuckabee highlighted that those values are also enshrined in the US Declaration of Independence and form the foundation of support by successive American presidents going back to Israel’s creation in 1948.In fact, the original telegram – replete with handwritten inserts and corrections – sent by president Harry S. Truman, recognizing the establishment of the State of Israel, is also displayed on the wall of the ambassador’s office – opposite the colorful biblical imagery.“It’s one of my favorite things on the wall; it really shows that connection between the US and Israel,” Huckabee says of the gold-framed telegram, a gift from Israel’s Education Minister Yoav Kisch.“He [Truman] recognized Israel 11 minutes after it declared its independence, against the advice of everyone in his office at the White House. I think it’s one of the great moments of American history.”Huckabee said that American recognition of Israel as an independent nation not only influenced other countries, but was also a bold move by Truman who, he says, “never doubted, never wavered” in his support for the emerging state.A telegram sent by president Harry S. Truman recognizing the State of Israel holds a place of pride on the wall of the ambassador’s Jerusalem office. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)Such unwavering support for Israel comes across from Huckabee, too, despite growing criticism of Israel and spiraling antisemitism back home, including among younger Evangelical Christians politically aligned with Trump. And even though actions by some in Israel clearly bothered this very Zionist ambassador.“I think most people are upset [with Israel] because of what they think has happened, not what has happened,” said Huckabee about virulent anti-Israel sentiment on both the extreme left and the extreme right in American society.“For example, I hear people say, ‘Oh, what Israel has done in Gaza…’ and I want to say, ‘You do understand that what Israel did in Gaza was a result of Hamas slaughtering and massacring 1,200 civilians, including 47 Americans, and then taking 250 people hostage and holding them, starving them, raping them, beating them, and in many cases killing them, all in captivity,” explained the ambassador.“Israel has done nothing in Gaza that the US wouldn’t have done,” he continued. “If we’d had 40,000 Americans murdered on one day, and about 10,000 taken hostage, then I can’t even begin to imagine what the reaction in the United States would be.“Truth and sunlight are great antiseptics to the disease of antisemitism,” Huckabee told the Report, pointing out that “many Arab states have poured billions of dollars into Middle East study programs [in the US] to propagandize young minds… and social media influences have played into this. The truth is lost completely, and that’s a tragedy.”West Bank violenceWhile Huckabee reserves his fiercest criticism for Hamas and its October 7, 2023, massacre, which he described as “vicious, brutal, intentionally designed to not only inflict the most pain, but also the most humiliation that [their victims] could possibly experience,” he is also quick to recognize the violence that has permeated the West Bank recently – much of it perpetrated by Israeli citizens against ordinary Palestinians.“First of all, there’s a real misconception that violence in Judea and Samaria is all carried out by the people who live there; most of it is not even conducted by the people who actually live there and raise their families [there],” stated Huckabee, referring to the territory by its biblical names.Most Israelis who live there, “just want to raise their families in peace. They don’t want to steal someone’s livestock or burn a house down, but it happens, and it often happens by hilltop youths who don’t even live in the area,” the ambassador said.However, he added: “I don’t call these people settlers… people who do that [to Palestinians] are ‘unsettlers’ and they are not representative of the half a million Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria.”Describing it as “horrific,” Huckabee said, “I [don’t see] any difference between someone who commits anact of terror or a crime. It’s the fact that they did it.“Our interest at the embassy is that we have American citizens who live in some of these areas… Many are Palestinian Christians, so when someone either breaks into their homes, burns their field, or steals their livestock, we get involved and insist on a full-throated investigation and adjudication of those who are caught doing it. We’ll continue to speak [out],” he said, pointing out that the Israelis are taking some steps to address the problem, but “I certainly want to see them get even better at it.”Trump-Netanyahu tensionsHis criticism – and the recent tension between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu around the deal with Iran – notwithstanding, Huckabee maintains that the US-Israel relationship is still incredibly strong.“Anyone who thinks it is not probably doesn’t understand it,” he stated. “Does that mean that the prime minister and the president agree on everything? Of course not; most married couples don’t agree on everything.”Huckabee (C) and the Palestinian mayor of the village of Taybeh, Suleiman Khourieh (L), tour the fifth-century Church of St George in the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh, northeast of Ramallah in July 2025, days after an arson attack on the church. (credit: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)But, continued Huckabee, “if you really are committed to each other, you work through your differences, you don’t totally disagree to the point that you disengage… the idea that somehow the [US-Israel] relationship is fractured, that’s just simply not true.”Still, in order to repair ties that have been impacted by more than two and a half years of war, Huckabee said he would like to see two things happen: “a more aggressive pushback from Israel on every media platform…” and “to encourage people to come to Israel, see it for themselves.”“I think the greatest thing that could happen for people from America to change their understanding of Israel is just for them to come,” he urged. “Come, look around, and ask questions. It doesn’t matter to whom – Palestinian, Israeli – just talk to people, and you’ll get different views… Try having a different view in many of these totalitarian Islamic countries and see how long that lasts.“I’m not one of those who thinks it’s all falling apart, and that we’re circling the drain,” Huckabee said. “I do think we’re going through a bumpy spot, not in the US-Israeli relationship – that, I think, is maybe stronger than it’s ever been – but I do believe that there is a season that we’re going through now, where the lack of credible information and the proliferation of media platforms that are so filled with distortions and untruths have influenced a generation.“But I’m also convinced that we’re living in a time when people will start asking hard questions and getting answers, and people will travel more, and they’ll come back and see this place more,” he said.■