Dear Senator,
As organizations committed to a strong US-Israel relationship and a secure, Jewish, and democratic Israel, we write to express our deep concern over the nomination of Governor Mike Huckabee as United States Ambassador to Israel and recommend you oppose his confirmation.
While we acknowledge Governor Huckabee’s personal affection for our ally Israel, his past comments and actions signal that his views are out of step with most Jewish Americans. As a result, we fear he and the Trump administration will respectively support and enact policies that jeopardize US interests, Israel’s long-term security, and its Jewish and democratic character while furthering a Christian nationalist agenda that threatens the safety of Jews and other religious minorities at home and abroad.
A poll of Jewish Americans conducted in October and November 2024 found that 74 percent support a peace deal that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state. Jewish Americans understand that the fates of Israelis and Palestinians are inextricably linked with both peoples having legitimate connections to the land over which they have suffered so much pain and bloodshed.
The only path to a secure, peaceful and democratic Israel is through ensuring Palestinians also have a state of their own. Governor Huckabee’s inflammatory rhetoric–dismissing such an outcome as “a fantasy” and denying the existence of the Palestinian people–directly undermines this goal and threatens Israel’s long-term security. Rather than supporting a demilitarized state of Palestine next to Israel and bolstering Palestinian moderates and peacemakers, Huckabee proposes dangerous policies including Israeli annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, a policy that would embolden extremists, make peace impossible, and is opposed by the vast majority of Jewish Americans.
We believe it is in the national security interests of the United States for Israel to strengthen its regional ties and achieve full normalization with its neighbors. Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have made clear that such opportunities will remain out of reach so long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists. In our view, deputizing a supporter of Israeli settler extremists who has literally laid bricks for a West Bank settlement house to be America’s ambassador to Israel will embolden zealots and further entrench the occupation rather than lead to a peaceful Middle East.
Huckabee’s extreme views extend beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is a proponent of a Christian nationalist worldview, which sees the Jewish state of Israel through an apocalyptic theological lens–a framework that has historically fueled antisemitism by casting Jews as either vehicles for Christian salvation or an obstacle to it. This ideology reduces our community to props rather than recognizing our full humanity and has manifested in gross Holocaust distortions, support for banning Muslims from entering the United States, and attacks on the separation of church and state. Even Huckabee’s support for Israel is based on an extreme reading of Christian scripture, which now leads him and others on the Christian right to pursue war with Iran and other nations throughout the Middle East.
These ideologies pose a direct threat to the Jewish community in the United States and to the safety of communities around the world. While Governor Huckabee is entitled to his religious beliefs and convictions, we are concerned when beliefs that treat Jews and the state of Israel as a means to an end dictate US policy.
As a community deeply committed to the state and people of Israel, and to a future that is both vibrant and peaceful, we believe any US Ambassador to Israel must recognize the interconnected destinies of Israelis and Palestinians. Governor Huckabee’s long history of inflammatory rhetoric and one-sided views demonstrate a fundamental disregard for this essential principle. His confirmation would undermine the pursuit of a just and lasting peace. We urge you to take these concerns under advisement and oppose his confirmation.
Sincerely,
J Street Habonim Dror North America New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA) Partners for Progressive Israel Reconstructing Judaism Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
