Washington DC – Ahead of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing on Mike Huckabee’s nomination as Ambassador to Israel, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement:
“We need a strong ambassador to Israel that represents the interests of the United States – someone who will put mainstream American interests first, not press their own personal, radical ideological views.
Mr. Huckabee has made it crystal clear that he is driven by a radical interpretation of religious texts saying that Jewish settlement of both Israeli and Palestinian land will lead to the second coming of Christ. While he is entitled to his beliefs, they clearly conflict with US interests in ending the Gaza war, getting hostages home and reaching a long-term regional peace agreement.
Mr. Huckabee’s embrace of annexation, extremist settlers and fanatical Christian Zionism stands in stark contrast to the Jewish, democratic values held by the overwhelming majority of our community – and in stark contrast to Israel’s founding values of justice, equality and peace.
We urge senators to vote no on this confirmation. An Ambassador espousing the views Governor Huckabee holds would undermine American interests and the administration’s own stated commitment to the pursuit of long-term regional peace and security.”