Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, has created an uproar by endorsing “Greater Israel” in an interview with Tucker Carlson. The six-minute exchange has shocked countries throughout the region.
Carlson said that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates, which would include essentially the entire Middle East. “Does Israel have the right to that land?” Carlson asked.
“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee replied. He hastened to add that Israel is not trying to take all that land, and it has a right to security in the land it legitimately holds. When Carlson pressed him on whether, under Huckabee’s professed religious views, it would be legitimate for Israel to claim Lebanon, Syria, and part of Iraq, Huckabee repeatedly sidestepped the question. (And does it really need saying that the Bible is not part of international law?) Huckabee’s remarks were swiftly condemned by regional and international governments and organizations.
