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. 

Saudi Arabia led a group of Arab and Muslim states and multinational organizations in condemning U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, claiming that he approved of Israeli expansion throughout much of the Middle East, based on partial and misconstrued remarks from his interview with Tucker Carlson released on Saturday.

Among those who signed onto the condemnation were Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council.

They “express[ed] their strong condemnation and profound concern regarding the statements made by the United States Ambassador to Israel, in which he indicated that it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.”

The statement also says that Huckabee’s remarks “directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S. President Donald J. Trump and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict … grounded in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence.” 

Huckabee, however, repeatedly denied in the interview with Carlson that he was advocating Israeli expansion across the region, as Tucker repeatedly asked him about it and accused him of it.

The Tucker Carlson Network posted a clip of the video in which Carlson expostulated at length about Genesis 15:18, in which God tells Abraham, “to your descendants I will give this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.” The Biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judea never included all of the land promised in Genesis, even at its historically largest size. 

Carlson asks if Huckabee believes that Israel was promised to the Jewish people and they therefore have the right to take all of the land promised, which covers modern-day Jordan and parts of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

In the clip, which cuts Huckabee off mid-sentence, he says in a facetious tone of voice, “It would be fine if they took it all.”

The second half of the ambassador’s sentence, as heard in the interview, is: “but I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here today.”

Pressed further by Carlson about Israel, Huckabee added that “they don’t want to take it over; they’re not asking to take it over.” 

Carlson asked the question a third time, and Huckabee again said: “They’re not asking to go back to take all of that, but they are now asking to at least take the land that they now live in, they now occupy, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them.”

Carlson replied, “You’re saying it’s fine with you if they took all of Syria, all of Jordan and all of Lebanon,” and Huckabee interjected: “That’s really not exactly what I’m trying to say.” 

“It was somewhat of a hyperbolic statement if that’s what you feel like we’re talking about, but it isn’t,” the ambassador added. “We’re talking about this land that Israel, the State of Israel, now lives in and wants to have peace in. They’re not trying to take over Jordan … Syria, Iraq or anywhere else, but they do want to protect their people.” 

“I’m simply saying that the people who live in Israel, I think, have the right to have security, have safety. I think they have a right to live in this land that they have a connection to for 3,800 years,” Huckabee added.

Carlson then asked again if Huckabee thought it would be legitimate for Israel to conquer Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, and Huckabee responded, “I don’t think in this particular day and time they’re asking for it … I’m not sure that it would be … If they end up getting attacked by all of these places and they win that war and they take that land, then okay, that’s a whole other discussion. But you and I started out talking about something simple, Christian Zionism.” 

Regarding the West Bank, Huckabee twice referred to the roughly 60% of the territory controlled by Israel, where all Israeli settlements are located, as part of Israeli territory, saying, “Area C is Israel.” Israel has not annexed Area C and refers to it as disputed territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office resolved a dispute between U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel over the denial of visas to workers and volunteers for several evangelical Christian organizations, two sources involved in the matter told Jewish Insider on Sunday.

“A solution has been reached to the satisfaction of all parties. The Evangelical Christian organizations active in Israel, which represent the vast majority of Zionists in the world today, will receive all of the visas they need through a streamlined and efficient application process,” Calev Myers, the attorney for the organizations told JI on Monday.

Hours before the issue was resolved, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office told JI, “this is something that we consider to be of urgent importance. We have every intention of solving this problem very quickly … It is being handled with the proper sensitivity between the Prime Minister’s Office and the embassy.” 

The PMO source said that Israel has “absolutely no interest in undermining the freedom [of workers and volunteers for Christian organizations] coming to Israel … We value evangelicals. It’s very regrettable that there is a problem and we obviously have to fix it.” 

Huckabee sent a letter to Arbel last Wednesday, expressing “great distress” and “profound disappointment” that after the two met to discuss the matter earlier this year, the Interior Ministry’s visa department continued to conduct investigations into American and other evangelical organizations seeking visas for their workers.

“It would be very unfortunate that our embassy would have to publicly announce throughout the United States that the State of Israel is no longer welcoming Christian organizations … and is instead engaging in harassment and negative treatment towards organizations with long-standing relationships and positive involvement toward Zionism and friendship to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” Huckabee wrote. 

If the situation continues, Huckabee added, he will instruct the U.S. Embassy’s consular section to treat Israeli citizens in kind.

“Surely this is not the relationship the State of Israel wishes to have with its best partner and friend on the planet,” he wrote.

A source close to Huckabee told JI that the ambassador did not intend for the letter to go public, which it did on Channel 12 news on Thursday evening.

Arbel responded on Thursday that he had committed “to reviewing such applications with the utmost efficiency,” instructed his staff to do so as well earlier this year, and that every specific case raised by Huckabee’s office was addressed “within an exceptionally short timeframe.” The interior minister argued that the specific organizations Huckabee mentioned in his letter were not the ones they had discussed in their meeting earlier this year.

Arbel also said he was surprised by the way Huckabee handled the matter — sending copies of the letter to Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana — which, he said, “deviates from accepting working norms and does not reflect the direct and constructive relationship we have established.” 

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, executive director of Israel365action, an organization connecting Christians to pro-Israel advocacy, said that this has been a long-standing issue regarding clergy and other workers and long-term volunteers, and not Christian pilgrims coming to Israel for short visits.

Huckabee and attorney Calev Myers met with Arbel about six months ago to work out issues with a specific group of organizations, and Arbel said he would solve it, but the issue remained unresolved, Wolicki explained.

The exchange of letters also came up at a time of increased tensions between Israel and Christians, after what Israel said was an errant tank shell hit the only Catholic church in Gaza and killed three people, and after several incidents of harassment and attacks by extremist settlers against the Christian population of Taybeh in the West Bank.

Huckabee wrote on X on Saturday that “Taybeh is a quiet Palestinian Christian village south of Jerusalem w/ a lot of American citizens that has been vandalized-including fires set at ancient church.  I visited there today. Desecrating a church,mosque or synagogue is a crime against humanity and God.” 

“I work for all American citizens who live in Israel –Jewish, Muslim or Christian. When they are terrorized or victims of crime[s], I will demand those responsible be held accountable [with] real consequences,” the ambassador added. 

Wolicki said that “the timing couldn’t have been worse.”

Israel has laws restricting missionary activity, and the visa issue has been exacerbated by the fact that the Shas party, whose Haredi constituency is especially sensitive to missionizing, has run the Interior Ministry for much of the last 25 years, he added.

“Any situation in which you have noncitizens in the country for the long term, it’s a bureaucratic process, and because of sensitivity about missionizing, this has always been an issue,” Wolicki said, noting that Israel365 has also had problems obtaining visas for Christian employees in the past.

The organizations Huckabee mentioned in his letter, the Baptist Convention of Israel, Christian Missionary Alliance and Assemblies of God are missionary groups, Wolicki said.

“There are official restrictions on missionary activity that, when Christians learn of them — and I say this with a lot of firsthand experience — it really moves them from support for Israel, even from the American level of valuing free speech … but also they feel like, how can you say you respect Christians and you want Christian support but we’re not even allowed to talk about Jesus when we’re there,” Wolicki said.

“Christians don’t think you’re offending anyone when you preach the gospel, and Jews view that as you have a knife and you’re trying to stab them,” he added.

Wolicki argued that the laws against missionary activity are problematic, though he acknowledged that abolishing them would likely be unpopular in Israel.

“Missionaries are active all over Israel anyway. There are Israelis who are active … Anyone concerned about missionary activity, which is a legitimate concern, should know this is not the solution. It causes more harm than good and makes Christians more hostile to the Jewish people,” he said.

Josh Reinstein, director of the Israel Allies Foundation, which promotes faith-based diplomacy, said that he has seen this issue come up repeatedly over the 21 years since the foundation was founded.

“It’s an ongoing issue because they always change the requirements for Bible-believing Christians and their organizations,” Reinstein said. “There are no protections for Evangelicals like the 14 mainline churches [the Israeli Religious Affairs Ministry] recognizes.”

“This needs a solution, but it is definitely not a crisis or a problem of Israel not wanting Christians as the enemies of Israel are making it out to be,” he added.

Reinstein questioned why what he called a minor issue was making bigger news than Christians under attack in Syria. 

“Israel is the only place in the region where Christians grow and thrive, as opposed to in the 22 countries around us,” he said. “People understand the relations bewteen Jews and Christians is so important today…which is why they are trying to make it into a bigger deal than it is. Huckabee is one of the greatest allies and friends Israel has. I don’t think it was his intention to cause a rift.” 

Daniel Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense under the Biden administration, U.S. ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Friday morning that Israel’s strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities would likely halt any further efforts toward a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program. 

Shapiro also said that major questions ahead for the region will be if and under what circumstances the U.S. would directly join Israeli strikes on Iran, and whether the strikes prompt Iran to attempt to make a sprint to a nuclear bomb.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jewish Insider: What are your biggest takeaways from these strikes?

Shapiro: These strikes lay bare the depth of Iran’s miscalculation following Oct. 7. Just stack it up: their top proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, is gone or deeply damaged. The Assad regime has gone. Their own state-to-state attacks against Israel in April and October were pretty ineffective, and then Israel did significant damage in response last October. 

But since the state-to-state taboo has been broken, Israel demonstrated last night that it has full penetration of the Iranian system and the ability to wreak havoc across the system. Iran really has never looked weaker, and its ability to respond meaningfully is going to be tested. 

So far, they haven’t mustered a very effective response. I’m sure they will. They will continue to respond, but the first wave of 100 or so UAVs was not very effective. 

Now the story doesn’t end here. Israel’s already conducting additional attacks. Iran is going to be very motivated to try to sprint to a nuclear breakout at one of their hardened underground facilities. And the United States, I’m sure, is going to assist Israel with defense against any retaliation. 

But the prospect of a diplomatic resolution that President Trump very much wanted, that would end Iranian enrichment, I think, is pretty much dead, and it’s more likely that he’ll be faced with a decision on whether to use the U.S. capabilities to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities and to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon. 

So that’s a big decision that may be still ahead, and could be the type of dilemma that splits his advisors, his political base, and probably will raise accusations from some corners that Israel is trying to drag the United States into the war.

JI: Let’s say the U.S. doesn’t get involved and doesn’t strike those facilities … What are the implications of that?

DS: The United States has unique capabilities to deal with the underground, deeply hardened sites. It could mean, if the United States is not involved, that those sites survive and are the place where Iran would be, if they chose, trying to execute their nuclear breakout.

That doesn’t mean that’s the only way to address those sites, and so if Israel is intent on really eliminating any threat of a nuclear Iran, it may turn to other methods … I think it’s going to be probably a very intense conversation between Netanyahu and Trump about the pros and cons of U.S. participation.

JI: Do you think that this is going to prompt Iran to move to nuclear breakout?

DS: I think they’re going to be very motivated to try to sprint to a breakout. They’ve often always seen their nuclear program as a pillar of the regime’s survival … If they’re looking for a way to gain a deterrent that would preserve what can be preserved, there’d be a strong case within their system to try to sprint to achieve a nuclear weapon. But there’s also chaos in their leadership right now, because so many of the top leaders were killed last night. So I don’t think that’s a decision that’s necessarily being made immediately.

JI: As we’re looking ahead to potential Iranian retaliation, [how do you think] some of the other states in the region are going to respond? So far, it seems like Jordan [intercepted some] of that first wave of drones … Do you think we’ll see the same sort of coordinated regional response effectively in defense of Israel like we saw last April?

DS: I think countries will act to defend their own airspace and their own assets. I think generally, they will not want to be advertised as participating in a defense of Israel, per se. But that doesn’t mean, even in defending their own airspace, they don’t in some way participate. … 

But I think most of the countries want to distance themselves from this action … They want to not give Iran any motivation or excuse to attack them or to associate them with the strikes … I suspect in private rooms, there’s probably some cheering going on in Arab capitals when they’ve seen the extent of the damage to the Iranian military.

JI: How do you read the response we’ve been seeing from the Trump administration so far?

DS: I think President Trump wanted more time to pursue his diplomatic initiative and to try to reach an agreement. And so I think this was not his preference to have this action take place this soon. 

However, it’s inconceivable Israel didn’t provide some forewarning, and if he didn’t give a firm red light, he probably gave sort of a yellow light. Israel may have argued that Iran was taking, or had taken, or was on the verge of taking some new steps that would shorten the already very short distance to nuclear breakout, or would advance their weaponization research. …

The initial statement from Secretary Rubio was intended to make clear that the United States was not a direct participant, and to try to dissuade Iran from responding in any way against the United States, and to warn them that if they did, it would be a very, very heavy price. …

The big question ahead, as I mentioned at the beginning, is, would the United States, under any circumstances, participate in strikes against Iran? And if so, what would be the trigger for that? Would it be the appearance that Iran is trying to do a nuclear breakout at the Fordow facility? Would it be in response to any kind of Iranian action against U.S. bases?

JI: In an alternate history where Joe Biden or Kamala Harris are in the White House, how do you think they would have handled this? Would they have given the same “yellow light?”

DS: I think it’s impossible to answer the hypothetical without knowing more about the information that Israel may have presented.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Gov. Mike Huckabee’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Israel on a party-line vote on Wednesday, committee chair Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) said.

The vote, which took place about a week after Huckabee’s confirmation hearing, suggests that Huckabee is likely to see minimal Democratic support when he comes to the Senate floor in the coming weeks, although Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has said he’s likely to support Huckabee.

“With the passage of these three qualified nominees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has now approved the nomination of 10 of President Trump’s national security nominees,” Risch said in a statement. “We will do all we can to keep up this quick pace to ensure President Trump and Secretary Rubio have the support they need. I urge my colleagues to confirm these qualified nominees when they come to the Senate floor.”

Huckabee’s past comments opposing a two-state solution, supporting Israeli annexation of the West Bank and denying the existence of Palestinians, among others, have made him controversial even among some of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the Senate.

“We need an ambassador to Israel that strengthens the relationship between our two nations while making sure our support for our democratic ally remains bipartisan,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the committee said in a statement. 

“While I appreciate Governor Huckabee’s deep commitment to Israel’s security, I have grave concerns about his support for fully annexing the West Bank, and I have serious doubts about his ability to ensure that support for Israel remains bipartisan and doesn’t become a political football,” Rosen continued. “For these reasons, I opposed his nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. However, if he is confirmed, I am committed to developing a relationship with Governor Huckabee and working with him to maintain a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.”

The nomination has also divided Jewish community groups.

Huckabee’s confirmation vote may be on track to echo the confirmation of the former Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, President Donald Trump’s pick in his first term, who received just two Democratic votes in support in 2017 amid similar concerns from most Democrats.

Some committee Democrats initially attempted to delay or prevent a vote on Huckabee’s nomination until Thursday, but were blocked by Republicans.