Huckabee Demands Our Attention (Noam Shelef - March 31, 2025)
Noam Shelef (he/him) joined New Jewish Narrative in 2025 as the Vice President of Communications. The issues that NJN champions have always been close to his heart, and he began his career in 1997 as an intern for Americans for Peace Now. In the years since, Noam has advocated in support of progressive causes in Israel, fighting for LGBTQ rights, and to end practices harmful to girls in Africa.
Eight years ago, when President Trump's nominee to serve as ambassador to Israel was announced, our community -- American Jews committed to progressive values -- mobilized in opposition. The nominee, David Friedman, had been a major financial backer of the settler movement. With the Senate under Republican control, there was little hope that his nomination could be stopped. But we still needed to send the message that this nomination was at odds with the views of the American mainstream and the American Jewish community.
In this, we succeeded. While all previous ambassadors to Israel were confirmed by more than 90 senators, only 52 voted for Friedman.
Last week, President Trump's new nominee for ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a hearing. In light of President Trump's "Flood the Zone" strategy -- and Netanyahu's imitation of many of Trump's neo-authoritarian tactics (not to mention the hostilities in Gaza and across Israel's northern border) -- you could be forgiven for missing the news about this hearing. We at New Jewish Narrative, however, are paying attention. And we are working to mobilize our community and our allies to make sure that this nomination is not understood as an endorsement of Huckabee's radical views by the public at large.
Here's a sample of what we know about Huckabee's views:
Huckabee strongly opposed the ceasefire deal that freed 38 hostages from Gaza. He said that “there’s no valid reason to have a cease-fire with Hamas” and that a ceasefire should not even be entertained until after the hostages are released.
Huckabee has repeatedly denied national Palestinian identity, claiming that there “isn’t such a thing” as a Palestinian.
Huckabee argued that Israel’s rule over the West Bank and Gaza is not an “occupation,” and that the Israeli connection to the West Bank is stronger than the American connection to Manhattan.
Huckabee has actively participated in actions that undermine US diplomatic credibility, including ceremonial cornerstone laying ceremonies in settlements.
Huckabee compared the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration to the Holocaust, saying it was leading Israelis "to the door of the oven."
In his hearing last week, Huckabee had the opportunity to renounce these views. He did not.
If all of these were not sufficient reasons to oppose Huckabee, I have one more: I find myself deeply concerned by the religious language that Huckabee deploys to express his views on Israel, on Jews, and on the conflict. I came of age at a time when secular political movements -- the Israeli Labor party and the Palestinian Fatah party -- embarked on a peace process that offered the best hope for Israel's survival and would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to have a future worth living in the same land. I remember what the violence perpetrated by religious zealots like Baruch Goldstein and Hamas suicide bombers did to shake confidence in the peace process. At this moment, when the impact of religious fanatics is growing in the bodies politic of both Israeli and Palestinian society, we do not need an American envoy guided by his own end-of-days-motivated reasoning.
I am privileged to be part of the push-back to this extremism in the American Jewish community. That's why I joined New Jewish Narrative one month ago. It’s about pushing back on Huckabee (and NJN will be in touch with you when it’s time for you to reach out to your senators) and about all the other opportunities when our narrative -- as Jewish, as progressives, as people who care about Israel, peace, and justice -- needs to be heard. I’m thankful for NJN and the work we’ll get done together.