As U.S. ambassador, Rev. Mike Huckabee will push for ‘end times’ in Palestine

“Genocide Joe” was an accurate descriptor for Joe Biden, however no matter how bad Biden was on Palestine, and he was horrible, early signs are that Donald Trump and his cronies are going to be a million times worse. This is most clearly seen by the appointment of Rev. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee is a former presidential candidate and governor of Arkansas. But those things are not the problem. The problem is that Huckabee is a Christian Zionist and believes in “End of Times” prophecy, namely that Jews must be established in a sovereign state of Israel to usher in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In this theology, Jesus will come again and reign over Israel and the world, and he will create a new age where all will be called to worship Christ. Christ will sit in judgment separating the righteous from the unrighteous – believers from nonbelievers. Those who believe will be welcomed into his kingdom and graces, and those who don’t will be condemned into Hell and torment. 

Mike Huckabee is a Southern Baptist minister. The Southern Baptist Church was founded as a break from the Baptist movement over the issue of slavery in 1845. The Southern Baptist Church on its founding supported slavery, and after the Civil War were ardent supporters of the politics of the “Lost Cause,” which included segregation. It wasn’t until 1995 that the church formally apologized for its support of slavery. And to right its historical wrongs in 2017 condemned white supremacy. However, the church recently voted in 2023 to ban women from serving as Pastors in its churches. In 2024 a proposal was put forth to affirm the 2023 decision, but that vote failed narrowly missing the 2/3rds required to pass. Some proponents of the ban suggested that there were already ways to remove churches from its ranks that had women pastors, so the proposal was not necessary. This is relevant because this is the denominational and theological/ideological base of Mike Huckabee, and as a Minister of the Southern Baptist tradition he brings these predilections into public life.    

You can sometimes catch Huckabee on late night or early morning TV raising funds or engaging in his monologues on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). TBN billed Huckabee as “America’s favorite front porch” talk show. His show is described as “the hour-long program…a down-home slice of wholesome Americana in all of its patriotic, God-honoring, and family-friendly glory.” But what signals his bias towards Israel are his appeals on behalf of the International Fellowship for Christians and Jews (IFCJ) whose agenda is to support Israel, offer assistance to indigent Jews, and assist with Aliyah (financially assisting Jews to make a home in Israel). This fits with his theological agenda of bringing Jews to Israel in fulfillment of his understanding of prophecy where the sovereignty of Israel as a Jewish “homeland” is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Christ. IFCJ’s website reads, “As the war shows no signs of slowing down, many Jewish people are struggling. “YOU can give hope today with your best gift. Donate to provide food, medicine, and other necessities. “I will bless those who bless [Israel]”, citing Genesis 12:3.

Huckabee shortly after the announcement of his ambassadorship to Israel spoke to Israel’s Army radio stating “of course” annexation of the West Bank is a possibility. This is his latest statement in a litany of other problematic statements. As a candidate for President in 2008 Huckabee stated that Palestinian identity was “a political tool to try and force land away from Israel.” Huckabee has maintained throughout his years in ministry and public life that the West Bank belongs to Israel, rationalizing it in this way, “the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.” Furthermore, Huckabee believes that there is no such a thing as a Palestinian – “There really isn’t such a thing,” he said earlier on this year. There is a lot to be concerned with in the appointment of Huckabee as the point person in Israel.

In response to the news of the Huckabee pick Luis Moreno, a former Chief of Mission to Israel and former Ambassador to Jamaica wrote on Twitter, “I unfortunately was exposed to him during his visits to Israel back in the day. Full blown (and knowledgeable) fanatic of the End of Times, Apocalypse, Israel’s destruction, etc. A true and utter nut case. Couldn’t be a more dangerous selection.”

Yet this is the choice that is before us, and his influence in the Trump administration will not fare well for the Palestinians of Gaza or the West Bank. The fact is that Mike Huckabee is going to go further in advocating for the destruction of Palestine than the Biden administration has, offer justification for stepping up the holocaust in Gaza, and push for the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank. Huckabee obviously believes that God is hate-filled and delights in the murder and genocide of men, women, and children. He believes that God is a homicidal maniac that only wants to have God’s agenda addressed as interpreted by those steeped in religious bias and coming from a historical framework of slavery, misogyny, and white supremacy. This pick will make things a million times worse for the cause of a free Palestine. 

This means that those of us in the Palestinian Justice Movement must double our efforts of agitation and education. We must push these next four years for Palestinian self-determination and to dismantle the Israeli apartheid system. We must show up and speak out. We must challenge Congress, and politicians at the local level to keep Palestine on their lips and in the consciousness of the public. Trump and Huckabee will seek to erase Palestine along with the crimes of the West Bank and Gaza (and now Lebanon), and it is up to us whether they succeed in this erasure or not.