By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist pastor noted for his Evangelical and pro-Israel views, prepares to take up his job as the United States ambassador to Israel.
The Senate agreed Wednesday with Huckabee’s nomination in a 53-46 vote, installing a staunch supporter of Israel in the key Mideast post.
Analysts say the 69-year-old ex-governor of Arkansas may prove crucial
to U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to seek an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the armed conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and threats posed to Israel by Iran.
Huckabee, also known as a political commentator and former presidential hopeful, became an ambassador after a vote that went almost entirely along party lines.
Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — an ardent supporter of Israel and virtually the only Democratic ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — was the only lawmaker to break with his party to join Republicans in backing Huckabee’s nomination.
Most Democrats questioned his views on Israel, including referring to the West Bank by its Biblical name of “Judea and Samaria,” a term the U.S. has so far refused to accept.
Huckabee also opposes the idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian people. He reportedly said he does not even believe in referring to Arab descendants of people in then British-controlled Palestine as “Palestinians.”
PERSONAL AGENDA
Despite his conservative views on Israel, which include support for Israel annexing the West Bank, Huckabee stressed during his confirmation hearing that he would work to advance the policies of the Trump administration, not his own personal agenda.
“I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the president, whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honor of serving as ambassador to the state of Israel,” Huckabee told the U.S. Senate hearing.
He said he hopes to arrive in Israel by Passover, which starts on Saturday evening. Huckabee’s arrival was due to be welcomed by Israel’s right-wing government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his meeting with Trump largely empty-handed, in contrast to his triumphant visit two months ago, commentators said.
During an hourlong Oval Office appearance, Trump appeared reluctant to end 17 percent tariffs on Israeli imports. He also announced that the United States and Iran would hold talks over the Iranian nuclear program beginning this weekend.
Netanyahu has been very wary of any discussions with Iran, which Israelis regard as an existential threat amid concerns about the Islamic State’s nuclear program.
The Israeli prime minister has made clear the Jewish nation would never accept Iran having nuclear weapons and did not rule out military action against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israeli officials are preparing to brief President Donald Trump on new military options against Iran when he meets later this month with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid growing concern that Tehran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile program and restoring damaged air defenses, according to an NBC News exclusive citing a person with direct knowledge of the plans and multiple former U.S. officials.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have agreed to accelerate a long-discussed regional energy and security partnership, pledging deeper cooperation amid rising instability in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.
The United States has seized another crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking the second such operation in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his government.
Ukraine’s military says it is attempting to halt a Russian incursion into a border village in the northeastern Sumy region, even as diplomatic efforts continue to seek an end to the nearly four-year war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “peaceful coexistence” as his nation marked the first anniversary of a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that revived a debate about the influx of migrants from mainly Muslim countries.
With Christmas approaching, a Christian worker and his family have fled a brick kiln in Pakistan where they were effectively held in modern-day slavery by their Muslim employer, amid continuing concerns over the safety of Christian girls in the mainly Islamic nation, investigators told Worthy News.
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.