President-elect Donald Trump has announced his nomination for the important post of US Ambassador to Israel, at a moment the Middle East stands on the brink, with wars raging in Gaza and Lebanon, and with tensions boiling between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
"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," an official statement from the Trump transition team says.
The statement released early Tuesday afternoon continues, "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!
If Israel is 'loved' by the Israeli people, we doubt the Palestinians feel the same, given that throughout his career - both as governor of Arkansas, and as a FOX News and talk radio pundit - he has been a staunch supporter of the Jewish state and simultaneously an Iran hawk.
At this moment, Biden's special envoy to the Middle East has said there is a "shot" to achieve ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, even as missile exchanges and bombings on either side of the border ramp up.
The prospect of a Gaza peace and hostage deal looks more remote than ever, and there's almost no chance of a deal being achieved in the Gaza Strip during the rest of Biden's term.
Huckabee in the post of US ambassador to Israel will no doubt be greeted with joy among Netanyahu government officials. The appointment also surely satisfies the Fox-watching and conservative talk radio demographic among Americans.
Regardless, Huckabee is set to take over the embassy in Jerusalem which is at the heart of several warring fronts. Netanyahu officials on Tuesday have gone so far as to say now is not the time for ceasefire in Lebanon, until the military's goals are achieved. Huckabee is likely to agree.
The Israeli lobby in the US is also going to be quite happy at this development, along with other picks being revealed this week:
Trump has selected AIPAC-approved Rep. Mike Waltz to serve as his national security advisor. pic.twitter.com/rTBxRycbhL
— AIPAC Tracker (@TrackAIPAC) November 12, 2024
Below is his full bio, by the National Governors Association
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MIKE HUCKABEE was born in Hope, Arkansas, and graduated from Ouachita Baptist University. Huckabee served as Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas from 1993 until July 1996 when he became Governor after his predecessor resigned, becoming one of the youngest governors in the country at the time. Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term as governor in 1998 and was reelected in November 2002. He pushed through education reforms in Arkansas that significantly expanded the availability of college scholarships, increased the number of charter schools, and established new approaches to workforce education. His Smart Start and Smart Step initiatives placed a heavy emphasis on reading and mathematics for students from kindergarten through the eighth grade, and since their creation student scores on standardized tests have risen steadily. Huckabee was also a leader in improving health care, creating the ARKids First program to extend health insurance coverage to tens of thousands of children, and leading a ballot initiative that devoted all of the state’s tobacco settlement money to improving the health of Arkansans. He led the Healthy Arkansas campaign, which received nationwide attention for its emphasis on changing the unhealthy behaviors of Arkansas residents.
In 1996, Huckabee led the fight for Amendment 75 to the Arkansas Constitution, which created a sales tax that funded one of the finest systems of state parks in the country and a system of state-of-the-art nature centers. Known as the “highway governor,” he led the campaign for a 1999 bond issue to rehabilitate the state’s system of crumbling interstate highways. Huckabee also won passage of the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history; led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights; and created a welfare reform program that reduced the welfare rolls in the state by almost 50 percent. He is a former chairman of the Southern Governors’ Association, the Southern Growth Policies Board, the Southern Technology Council and the Southern International Trade Council. Huckabee chairs the Education Commission of the States and is the immediate past president of the Council of State Governments. Huckabee served as chair of the National Governors Association from 2005 to 2006, overseeing the initiative “Healthy America: Wellness Where We Live, Work and Learn.”
Mike Huckabee is fed up with Nikki Haley:
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 2, 2024
"She blames Donald Trump for the chaos. It's not Donald Trump that created the chaos."pic.twitter.com/O8RQHnmKDl
He and his wife, Janet, have three grown children: John Mark, David, and Sarah. After attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, Huckabee was a Baptist minister at several churches in Arkansas. After serving as Governor, Huckabee ran for U.S. President in 2008 and 2016. Huckabee provided political commentary to the Fox News channel and was given his own weekend talk show, Huckabee, which first aired on Fox News in 2007. He has also hosted several talk-radio shows. Huckabee enjoys hunting, fishing and reading.