U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged America to “be doing more” to combat foreign influence in schools, which he identified as a key factor in the declining support for Israel among younger evangelical Americans.

While evangelicals have historically been some of Israel’s strongest allies, support among the youngest Americans is becoming “more divided” than in previous generations, Huckabee, who is an evangelical Christian, told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview on Thursday.  

“A lot of it is driven by social media and Middle Eastern studies programs that are heavily financed by Gulf state countries pouring billions of dollars into universities in the U.S. and giving people a very false understanding of what the realities in the Middle East are,” Huckabee said. 

His comments came shortly before he delivered the commencement address at Yeshiva University’s graduation ceremony at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens — and a surprise musical performance. The theme of this year’s ceremony was “America 250.” 

“Maybe the U.S. should be doing more because it’s still a problem. Truth is a great antiseptic as a healing power and we need more of it. I’m not one for restricting the rights of people to express the First Amendment. I want there to be more voices in the mainstream and for more people to engage in social media because that’s where a lot of the poison comes from and to counteract it,” he said. 

Huckabee added that the U.S. should “block funding by anybody funding things that are fundamentally opposed, not only to American policy, but to truth. I’d like to think American policy and truth are hand in hand but especially when there is propaganda being inflicted on young minds, that should be unacceptable to us.” 

According to a new report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, Qatar has spent more than $65 million to influence U.S. education over the past 17 years through Qatar Foundation International. 

The interview came as the U.S. and Iran reportedly await final approval from President Donald Trump to extend a ceasefire in the war and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. 

“It’s an incredible time to weaken Iran,” said Huckabee. “We don’t know where the next step is. I would leave any questions about that to the White House and secretary of state. President Trump has made it very clear what his goals are — he will keep them and I trust him.” 

Addressing Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, which has increased amid the Iran war, Huckabee suggested that the attacks have often been carried out by “people that don’t even live in Judea and Samaria,” a claim that security and human rights organizations dispute.

“The trouble that is caused by those who engage in attacks on Palestinian families is devastating to the reputation of Israel for no good purpose,” he continued. “I would say they are not settlers, they’re un-settlers. It’s a very tiny minority of people who engage in things like stealing livestock, vandalizing homes and cars and committing acts of violence, but it’s too many. Just as outraged as we are when there’s a Palestinian crime against an Israeli, we can be equally concerned about a crime an Israeli might commit against a Palestinian.” 

Huckabee also expressed concern over declining support for Israel among both young Americans using social media and certain fringes of the Republican Party. 

“The No. 1 [way to get young Americans engaged with Israel] is to bring them to Israel, let them see it firsthand,” he said. “It’s the best antidote there possibly could be. Anyone who comes to Israel will never leave saying it’s an apartheid state or that it’s genocidal. You cannot come to any of those ridiculously false conclusions. It’s a free, wonderful, vibrant society in which people with all kinds of viewpoints are able to live and thrive. People need to see that and understand most of what they hear, particularly on social media, is an outright lie.”  

Beyond coming to Israel, “people who know the truth need to be bold in speaking the truth,” he added.

“Americans don’t realize that the return on investment that Americans get from Israel is many times over anything they ever have as Americans have invested into Israel,” the ambassador said. “What we give we get right back, not only in terms of direct military sales where thousands of Americans’ jobs are created solely because Israel is buying defense mechanisms, but a lot of other things too, like cellphones and car navigation.”   

He said the GOP will only remain pro-Israel if Republicans “understand the big picture” — “If they understand not only world history but the realities of the geopolitical world and especially that of the Middle East.”

Huckabee distanced his party from several right-wing commentators who have used their large platforms to spread antisemitism. 

“I’m finding the anti-Israel voices are leaving the Republican Party, they are no longer a part of it,” continued Huckabee. “Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens are not Republicans. They’ve gone in a direction that is independent of any particular ideology other than making a lot of money and getting provocative statements in the marketplace. But you don’t hear an ideology expressed. I hope people will pay less and less attention to the voices of division.” 

“I don’t want to say [those voices] must be funded from outside sources,” said Huckabee. “I think some of it is driven by the fact that social media makes money because people click, [even] if they click in disagreement.” 

During his commencement address, Huckabee said he is “a Zionist — an unapologetic one — because I believe the Bible and because I recognize that Jews around the world … have created an outsized impact on the world.” 

On the sidelines of YU’s commencement, Rabbi Ari Berman, president of the university, told JI that even as campus antisemitism appears quieter than in the immediate years following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, the institution “continues to see an incredible rise in interest.”

“Our honors applications are up 70% the past two years,” said Berman. “Students who would have otherwise gone to elite universities are recognizing that the elite Jewish university actually does not only give them academic excellence but nourishes their soul.” 

But it’s not just students seeking refuge in a Jewish university, said Berman. “Faculty are coming to us also. After Oct. 7, faculty with values realized campuses are without compassion.” He pointed to the university’s new engineering program, which was founded and chaired by a professor who left his position at Cooper Union amid increased campus antisemitism.

Following a “donor revolt” after Oct. 7 — a wave of financial pushback where prominent alumni and philanthropists leveraged their donations to various universities to force administrative changes in addressing antisemitism — Berman said he is “not concerned” about donors who switched their gifts to YU returning to other universities.  

Still, Berman warned that “people foolishly are returning to a pre Oct. 7 mindset, and should not forget what was revealed” on American campuses following the attacks. 

Bruce Pearl, former head coach of Auburn University, made a surprise appearance to address the crowd, praising YU’s basketball team and student athletes. Faculty, graduates and honorees all donned the blue square pin,  a symbol associated with the fight against antisemitism as part of a campaign spearheaded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate.