Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and current U.S. ambassador to Israel, is a hyperactive presence in attacks on Iran while defending the private Israeli-U.S. food distribution operation which will provide only minimal amounts of food to starving Gazans. A fervent Christian Zionist, Huckabee spoke May 18 at the 17th Plenary Assembly of the New York-based World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem, JNS reported May 19 in which he asserted that the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the root of all terrorism in the Middle East. Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, “come from the very same kitchen in Tehran,” he warned. Iran not only funds and arms all these terror groups, but also orchestrates their operations, he charged. Thus, he asserted, Iran is the central force behind all threats confronting Israel.
He made these remarks at a time when Washington and Tehran have been involved in indirect negotiations for almost a month, seeking agreement on uranium enrichment, sanctions and other sensitive bilateral and regional matters. Inserting himself into the negotiation, he insisted, “the President has made it clear. They are not going to enrich, they are going to have total disarmament. So whatever they are discussing, those are the criteria that the President has set forth. Even if they say they agree to it, do we believe them? They haven’t kept anything they’ve said for 46 years.”
Not limiting himself to the Iran issue, Huckabee is also questioning the need for a Palestinian state, as he indicated in an interview with Israeli daily Haaretz published May 20, in which he supported the new private contractor-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to replace UN agencies and distribute inadequate amounts of food to Palestinians. Why does it matter where the food comes from when people are starving? he asked. After extolling the idea that the Abraham Accords will really transform the entire Middle East, he answered a question about where a Palestinian state would fit into that vision, asking “is it really necessary to have a Palestinian state? If there’s a desire for a particular state, does it have to exist within the current geographical boundaries of Israel? I’m asking whether there truly needs to be a separate state. Muslim countries collectively have 844 times the landmass that Israel has. So, I’m not saying there shouldn’t be [such a state], but the real questions are: Where would it be? How would it be governed? And what kind of culture would underpin it?” He clearly thinks such a state could be located anywhere—outside of Gaza.
