U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sat down with Israeli rabbis and said things that no American diplomat should say in an official capacity. Watch the remarks here.
The substance of what Huckabee conveyed — that his personal religious beliefs about Israel’s divine status inform how he represents the United States — is not a theological debate. It is a constitutional one. The separation of church and state exists precisely to prevent government officials from using religious conviction as the basis for official policy. When an ambassador frames his loyalty to a foreign government in theological terms, he is not just expressing personal faith. He is telling the world that American foreign policy is being driven by one man’s religious interpretation of who God favors.
“Ambassador Huckabee has every right to believe that God favors Israelis above all other humans solely based on their ethnicity,” United Voices said. “However, Ambassador Huckabee must stop using his ‘Israel First’ religious beliefs to justify prioritizing the Israeli government’s interests over American interests, international law, and basic humanity. His comments violate the separation of church and state and dangerously weaponize accusations of antisemitism to shield Israel and the United States from accountability for the genocide in Gaza.”
The weaponization of antisemitism accusations deserves particular scrutiny. Calling criticism of the Israeli government’s military campaign — a campaign that has killed more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, with 83 percent confirmed as civilians by Israeli intelligence’s own data — antisemitic is not a defense of Jewish people. It is a rhetorical shield designed to make accountability impossible. Huckabee’s remarks lean into that shield, using religious language to put the Netanyahu government beyond the reach of the same moral standards applied to every other government on earth.
“God is not racist and does not look favorably upon the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children,” United Voices said. “Neither should our nation.”
United Voices is calling on the State Department to clarify the extent to which Ambassador Huckabee’s personal religious beliefs are shaping official U.S. policy toward Israel — and to reaffirm that American foreign policy is bound by international law, human rights obligations, and the constitutional principle that no official may impose their religious convictions through the power of their office.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee Told Israeli Rabbis His Religious Beliefs Guide His U.S. Policy. That’s Not How This Is Supposed to Work.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sat down with Israeli rabbis and said things that no American diplomat should say in an official capacity. Watch the remarks here.
The substance of what Huckabee conveyed — that his personal religious beliefs about Israel’s divine status inform how he represents the United States — is not a theological debate. It is a constitutional one. The separation of church and state exists precisely to prevent government officials from using religious conviction as the basis for official policy. When an ambassador frames his loyalty to a foreign government in theological terms, he is not just expressing personal faith. He is telling the world that American foreign policy is being driven by one man’s religious interpretation of who God favors.
“Ambassador Huckabee has every right to believe that God favors Israelis above all other humans solely based on their ethnicity,” United Voices said. “However, Ambassador Huckabee must stop using his ‘Israel First’ religious beliefs to justify prioritizing the Israeli government’s interests over American interests, international law, and basic humanity. His comments violate the separation of church and state and dangerously weaponize accusations of antisemitism to shield Israel and the United States from accountability for the genocide in Gaza.”
The weaponization of antisemitism accusations deserves particular scrutiny. Calling criticism of the Israeli government’s military campaign — a campaign that has killed more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, with 83 percent confirmed as civilians by Israeli intelligence’s own data — antisemitic is not a defense of Jewish people. It is a rhetorical shield designed to make accountability impossible. Huckabee’s remarks lean into that shield, using religious language to put the Netanyahu government beyond the reach of the same moral standards applied to every other government on earth.
“God is not racist and does not look favorably upon the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children,” United Voices said. “Neither should our nation.”
United Voices is calling on the State Department to clarify the extent to which Ambassador Huckabee’s personal religious beliefs are shaping official U.S. policy toward Israel — and to reaffirm that American foreign policy is bound by international law, human rights obligations, and the constitutional principle that no official may impose their religious convictions through the power of their office.