You’ve heard it before, but that well-worn saying that Israel has never had a better ally in the White House than US President Donald Trump is true this time around as well. And that regarding new Ambassador Mike Huckabee, when it comes to representing the US in Israel, there has never been a more reliable friend.
I can say this both on a national and personal level, mostly due to Huckabee’s unapologetic pro-Israel sentiment that began over 50 years ago.
I was grateful when I learned that the ambassador granted Moskoff-Media (Israel) an interview at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. As the conversation progressed, I realized that Huckabee has the total support of the president, and that theoretically, Trump is always just a phone call away.
The following are excerpts of the interview, in which he addresses and clarifies a wide-range of recent issues.
Mike Huckabee: Right into the frying pan
HM: Thank you for your time, Ambassador Huckabee. It’s great to see you again. In this country, you need no introduction. You have been all over the news since you came here. You came right into the frying pan…
MH: It certainly has been all of that, and more.
HM: There’s no one I think who’s better fitted in terms of past history with the country. You are the 29th US ambassador to Israel. Here at the embassy, this will be our second interview; the first was about 10 years ago in New York City.
It seems we are constantly “two weeks away” from Iran weaponizing nuclear materials. Some people say two weeks; some people say two months. Knowing President Trump as well as you do, when do you think his patience is going to run out with these talks? We just had talks. Do you think it will last another half a year?
MH: I can’t imagine that the president would let those talks just continue indefinitely. If it becomes apparent that the Iranians have no serious intent on dismantling their nuclear program, the president has made it clear they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. And they can either… as he said last week, “They can either blow it up nicely or they can blow it up viciously.” I thought that was pretty clear. And I hope that they take him seriously.
HM: In my view, you definitely represent the epitome of “faith diplomacy.” What’s your personal vision for your ambassadorship here in Israel for the next four years?
MH: I would love to see the hostages all come home, every one of them. To see Hamas completely annihilated. The president has said repeatedly that they have no future in Gaza, they have no future in governing. I don’t see how they could have any future, because what they did on October 7 was not an act of war.
It was an act of the most vicious, uncivilized terror that we’ve seen. It’s even worse than terrorist acts when people are murdered by gunfire or by bombs, because there was an intent to inflict the highest level of pain and humiliation upon the victims.
The victims were targeted to be civilians. They were targeted to be vulnerable people, elderly people, pregnant women, babies. When you target people like that for the actions that they carried out, those are not acts of war. Those are acts of criminal, uncivilized, savage behavior that can only be met with the desire to say: this can never be.
If you put it in biblical terms, it’s like going after the Amalekites in the Old Testament. And God says don’t let any of it last. It’s all got to go.
HM: That’s a good way to think of it. Real evil, evil personified.
Let’s move to The New York Times, which wrote that there are signs of division between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then picked out one quote. You have had many good quotes lately about what has been happening, namely, that Trump didn’t really throw Israel under the bus with all these recent decisions he’s made, which seem on the surface to be contrary to Israel’s interests.
But the one quote The New York Times used for you was: Huckabee said that “the US isn’t required to get permission from Israel” – instead of all the other quotes.
MH: They didn’t even finish that statement! Because I said, “and Israel doesn’t need our permission.” That was the whole point: that we have two sovereign nations. The United States of America doesn’t have to play “mother-may-I,” but it’s not just with Israel. We don’t have to ask the UK, or Canada, or France, or any of our allies. We’ve got a lot of allies around the world. It’s not necessary. There’s nothing in our law that requires us to ask permission to act in our own best interests.
I quickly said it in the same sentence, and the Times, irresponsibly and recklessly left it out, that Israel doesn’t have to ask our permission. They’re a sovereign nation. Israel doesn’t have to ask the United States – “Hey, can we defend ourselves?” Can we go against our enemies? That’s not a requirement. There’s nothing in our longstanding, very thick relationship that would require the Israelis to get our permission. I said it as clearly as it could be said, but The New York Times, which I call the “New York Slimes” once again chose to distort and misrepresent a story. When you tell a half-truth as if it is the full truth, it becomes an untruth. That’s what they did. And I wish they would be accountable for their very unprofessional standards of journalism. But they probably won’t.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, Temple Mount
HM: What are your views about keeping Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem in general, and the Temple Mount in particular?
MH: I think what has been the practice – Israel has made accessibility something that they protect everyone, whether that person is Jewish, Muslim, or Christian. And there are clearly holy sites for all the three major religions, and for others as well. When people are critical of Israel about their management of the property, I always say, as a Christian I can go to any sites I want to. And the Israelis protect me and grant me that right and access.
Quite frankly, in the Palestinian Authority, there are places that I cannot go to easily. And it’s very much in complete disregard of the Oslo Accords, which was to grant access everywhere. The Israelis have kept that. Others have not.
I don’t know why there needs to be a particular change, as long as Israel has maintained the right of people to visit the Temple Mount, whether it’s to see al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock, or whether it’s for Christians to be able to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, or other places in the Old City that they wish to go. And that accessibility has been guaranteed. Quite frankly, sometimes it almost appears the Israelis are more protective of the other religions getting their rights than they are of Jews.
HM: That’s true. If the reverse were the case, it would be different. You don’t see that. You don’t see the PA protecting Jewish property, especially in terms of biblical archaeology. The opposite is true!
Sovereignty must be appreciated, certainly from a biblical perspective, and even more so, politically. I hope you will also have an influence so that we stand strong always and don’t move from our position.
Again, I wanted to thank you very much for your time, Mr. Ambassador.
MH: Great to visit with you again. It has been a long time.
The writer is president of Moskoff-Media (Israel), MMLC, and director of the Museum Heritage Project – Diplomatic Initiatives, based in Rome and Israel. He is an author and investigative archaeologist/journalist. He can be reached at: harry@moskoff-media.com.