Donald Trump Picks Mike Huckabee for US Ambassador to Israel

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Mike Huckabee as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages multi-front wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump said in a statement.
He continued, “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
The former governor has not previously held a diplomatic post. His nomination, which will require almost-certain Senate confirmation, comes as Trump will now face pressure to end the wars in the Middle East as he promised.
On Oct. 7 last year Hamas sparked the current conflict by attacking Israel and killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 hostages. Nearly 100 people remain in captivity, less than 70 of whom are believed to be alive. Since then, the ongoing conflict in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
This figure includes both civilians and militants, however Gaza health officials do not distinguish between Hamas fighters and civilians who have been killed by the Israeli military.
Israel says that it only targets Hamas militants, who it accuses of embedding themselves within civilian infrastructure and the displaced population of Gaza.
Huckabee told NewsNation in June that he did not support an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, arguing that negotiating with the terrorist group was futile. He said that the only resolution was Hamas’ complete surrender.
In 2022, Huckabee’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, became the first woman to be elected governor of Arkansas. Sanders previously served as press secretary in the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.
Huckabee served as the governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He entered the Republican presidential primaries in 2008 and in 2016 before Trump’s ascendency.
Newsweek has reached to Huckabee Tuesday afternoon via a message to his website for comment.
Update: 11/12/24, 2 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.