Washington DC – Following overwhelming Democratic opposition to Mike Huckabee’s nomination as Ambassador to Israel, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs Hannah Morris released the following statement:
“It’s deeply heartening to see wall-to-wall Democratic opposition in the Senate to Governor Huckabee’s nomination, with 46 out of 47 senators in the Democratic caucus voting against the nomination, including every single Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Democratic caucus is clearly united in saying that this nomination is out of step with the mainstream majority of both the Party and the Jewish community.
In Senate hearings, Governor Huckabee was open about his support for annexation, embrace of extremist settlers and total indifference to Israel’s democratic future or the civil rights of Palestinians. As he has said repeatedly, his positions are not based on any concern for peace or justice or an understanding of geopolitics, but on a radical religious ideology that Jewish settlement of both Israeli and Palestinian land will lead to the second coming of Christ.
His ideology stands in stark contrast to the Jewish, democratic values held by the overwhelming majority of our community and, frankly, to core American values held by most American voters. While he is entitled to his beliefs, they clearly conflict with US interests in ending the war in Gaza, getting hostages home and reaching a long-term regional peace agreement.
This appointment plays to the Evangelical, Christian Zionist base of today’s Republican Party and has little to do with actual concern for the Jewish people or the safety of the Jewish homeland. It also runs directly counter to the work of others in the administration who are actively looking to strike a regional agreement that normalizes Israel’s relations with its neighbors – an agreement that will only be possible with a commitment to the recognition of the very Palestinian state Mike Huckabee opposes.”