A Gentile Ambassador With a Jewish Heart

One week after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States for a second term, he announced the appointment of evangelical leader and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee brings a deeply personal and longstanding connection to Israel. Since his first visit to the Holy Land in 1973 at the age of 17, Huckabee has passionately advocated for the nation, visiting more than 100 times.

In a recent podcast interview, he shared that he “felt an overwhelming spiritual reality of understanding this is the land that God has given to the Jews.” A Bible-believing Christian Zionist, Huckabee sees Israel as the foundation of his faith, rooted in God’s promises to the Jewish people.

Huckabee is the first Gentile to occupy this role since James Cunningham served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from 2008 to 2011. As deputy U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations in 2004, Cunningham criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Years later, he labeled President Trump’s 2018 decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem a “serious mistake.” Cunningham argued that relocating the embassy failed to make Israel, the United States, or the region safer or more stable.

The traditional American political lens focuses squarely on the two-state solution, long considered the cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy and a pathway to peace and stability. Yet, that policy has resulted in failed plans, accords, and roadmaps. Critics argue that the two-state approach prioritizes theoretical solutions over the land of Israel’s historical realities.

Cunningham’s opposition to relocating the embassy epitomizes this perspective. He called the move controversial and destabilizing; yet, in practice, it brought much-needed clarity to a long-standing ambiguity that did more to prevent peace than propel it.

Huckabee views Israel not through a political lens but a biblical one. His framework is anchored in God’s covenantal promise to Abraham: “To your descendants I have given this land” (Gen. 15:18).

“This land” includes even the contested area the world calls the West Bank, a term Huckabee rejects in favor of the biblical names, Judea and Samaria. His refusal to adopt the prevailing terminology signals a departure from conventional diplomacy and embraces a biblical narrative as the guiding principle for his ambassadorship.

Huckabee grounds his distinct approach to Middle East diplomacy in faith. His commitment to Israel stems from a deep conviction in the promises of Scripture rather than the shifting sands of political expediency.

Also worthy of note: As the Trump administration began unveiling its cabinet, one of the first public nominations was for the United States ambassador to Israel. While other administrations typically gravitated toward roles like secretary of state, secretary of defense, or attorney general, this administration elevated to prominence the ambassadorship to Israel. Instead of global powerhouses like China or Germany, the little Jewish state—a nation no larger than the state of New Jersey—captured the ambassadorial spotlight.

The prophet Joel warned that God will one day judge the nations based on how they treated His people during their dispersion and how they divided His land (Joel 3:2). It is no coincidence that global attention often centers on Israel, a nation whose spiritual and geopolitical significance far outweighs its geographic size.

As Mike Huckabee steps into this crucial role, I pray that God will guide him and bless his efforts to represent the United States in a way that honors His Word, His people, and His land.