U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sat down for an exclusive conversation with Arutz Sheva–Israel National News, sharing reflections on his hectic first weeks in the position. “I have not come up for air since I’ve come off the airplane,” he remarked, highlighting the whirlwind pace of his new role.
Recalling the moment President Donald Trump appointed him to the post, Huckabee described how it came as a surprise. “I didn’t ask him for the job, I never lobbied for it, I never had a conversation with him about it until the day he called me a few days after the election. President Trump doesn’t ask you, he tells you. He called and said: ‘Mike, you’re going to be Ambassador to Israel, you’re going to be great.'”
Responding to speculation that the President is unhappy with how the Israeli leadership is conducting the campaign in Gaza, Huckabee explained that the ongoing conflict is due to Hamas refusing to accept the terms laid out by Trump. “The reason it’s keeps going is that Hamas won’t come to the conclusion that the President laid out for them – you’re not having a future here, you’re not going to govern and rule here, you’re not going to be militarized here. That’s what President Trump made very clear.”
Addressing claims that Trump wants the conflict to end at all costs, Huckabee pushed back. “That defies what he has said repeatedly. The fact that he would like the war to end, so would I, and so would you. There’s no one but Hamas that wants to keep this going. But it can’t end with a Hamas victory.”
He also expressed empathy for families of hostages still held in Gaza. “If someone would abduct my child, I would just want them to come home as quickly as possible. I probably wouldn’t care what it took to get them home.” He stressed that the continued captivity is solely because of Hamas, not the Israeli government. “When I hear people say that the Israelis don’t want this war to end, that isn’t true. Or specifically, that the Prime Minister wants to keep the war going for political purposes – that’s not true.”
Humorously, Huckabee described how much time he’s spent with Prime Minister Netanyahu since arriving in Israel. “I told him the other day that if I spent any more time with him, he’s going to have to put me on his family health insurance plan as a dependant.”
The ambassador characterized the relationship between the U.S. and Israel as one of deep mutual benefit. “It is not a one-way street where Israel benefits greatly from America and America gets nothing in return; America gets a lot in return, and it’s a true partnership.”
Reacting to the recent condemnations of Israel by countries like the UK, Canada, and France, Huckabee voiced strong disapproval. “It’s such an outrage that what should be educated, thoughtful European nations, would come out and blame Israel for what’s happening in Gaza rather than blaming Hamas and putting pressure on them. They’re the ones who won’t come to any significant agreement to get the hostages out.”
He questioned whether Europeans had forgotten the hard truths of their own history. “Do the people in France and the UK not remember their history in World War II? How did the war end? Did it end with Churchill saying ‘You know what, this has gone on too long, let’s just call it a draw?’ They bombed the heck out of Germany. Had it not been for that, maybe the war wouldn’t have ended.”
Continuing, he criticized European efforts to pressure Israel. “I just don’t think the Brits have any business telling Israel how to prosecute a war that they’re fighting not only to avenge the slaughter of their own people, but a war that stops Hamas from staying there because Hamas has vowed even a recently as two weeks ago that if they have the opportunity they will do it again.”
When asked why President Trump skipped visiting Israel during his latest regional trip, Huckabee clarified the reasoning. “His trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE was an economic development trip. It’s not a snub to Israel. He goes to a lot of places, as President, this was his focus. His focus in the States is business development.”
He added that the purpose of the visit was to lay the groundwork for more countries joining the Abraham Accords.
Touching on the “America First” policy, Huckabee explained that it doesn’t imply isolationism. “It doesn’t mean America only. If it did, then he wouldn’t have visited these countries. America first means that our primary objectives are to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. To do that, it doesn’t mean that America is America only, that we live without understanding that we live in a world and that we benefit from trade, tourism, normalization, and recognition of other countries.”
He described President Trump’s foreign policy as one that respects national sovereignty. “One of the biggest things the President did on this trip was that he went to governments that are totalitarian, and told them: ‘We’re not here to try to change your governing style or try to impose our governing style on you.'”
Dismissing fears that the U.S. would pressure Israel into accepting a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization deals, Huckabee said there’s no truth to that notion. “I don’t hear anything on our side even intimating something like that. This is not trying to force Israel to do something, we already have a partnership with Israel. Israel is not just a friend or ally – it is a partner. What is the difference? A partner is more like a marriage. We’re in this for the long haul. We’re never going to get a divorce because neither side can afford to pay the alimony. We are that entrenched with each other.”
He went on to describe the connection between the two nations in spiritual as well as strategic terms. “It’s not just a geopolitical relationship and an economic relationship, it’s a spiritual relationship. We are both living on the same foundation of a Judeo-Christian understanding of Western civilization, we can not escape that.”
On the question of U.S. involvement in creating a Palestinian state, Huckabee was unequivocal. “It’s not our business. Israel is a sovereign nation. It would be like Israel passing a resolution in the Knesset demanding that America give Texas back to the Mexicans.”
Turning to the topic of Iran and its nuclear ambitions, Huckabee reiterated the administration’s red lines. “They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. They’ve got to agree to total dismantlement and complete loss of capability. They’re not going to have enriched uranium, centrifuges, and reactors. You don’t get any clearer than that. If the Iranians think they can gain Donald Trump, they’ve never dealt with him.”
He also insisted that Israel retains full freedom to act in its own defense. “America is not telling Israel how to defend itself against the existential threat that Iran has posed to them for forty-something years. The Iranians haven’t changed their message, they still chant ‘death to Israel’ and ‘death to America.’ I want Americans to remember that their aspiration doesn’t end at the Mediterranean.”
Asked why the U.S. even negotiates with a regime that wants to destroy it, Huckabee responded that diplomacy is about giving others a chance to show the world they can behave responsibly. “You have to give it a chance. You have to show the world that you have given the Iranians an opportunity to act like civilized people, to show that they want to be real neighbors in the world.”
Addressing concerns that the U.S. would stop pushing for the release of hostages now that Edan Alexander—the last living American captive—has been freed, Huckabee gave reassurance. He stated that Trump “has not given any indication that he is wiping his hands of what’s going on in Gaza with the hostages. He’s also the one who said, let’s get them some humanitarian aid as long as it doesn’t reach the hands of the Hamas monsters.”
He criticized media distortion of Trump’s stance. “He’s been consistent. If people would listen to what the President says, not what some ‘unnamed source’ in the Washington Compost, I think people would relax a lot more.”
{Matzav.com}