Donald Trump taps former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be Israel ambassador

President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel on Tuesday — insisting that the conservative pundit and Baptist minister “will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

“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,” Trump, 78, said in a statement.

“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.”

A two-time Republican presidential candidate, Huckabee, 69, said he was “still in shock” and “processing” his selection after being extended the offer from Trump himself on a Tuesday morning phone call, a source familiar with the discussion divulged to The Post.

Huckabee denied reports early in the first Trump administration that he was considered for the same position, which was filled by then-campaign adviser and attorney David Friedman.

“I am thrilled by President Trump’s nomination of Governor Mike Huckabee as the next Ambassador to Israel,” said Friedman, who served in the role from 2017 to 2021.

“He is a dear friend and he will have my full support. Congrats Mike on getting the best job in the world!”

Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir was the first foreign official to praise the decision, posting on X: “Mike Huckabee 🇺🇸❤️🇮🇱.”

Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas from 1997 to 2006, will succeed Ambassador Jacob Lew, who served under President Biden.

Israel just entered its 13th month of war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 people, including 46 Americans. It was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

That conflict has broadened into a wider regional conflict between Israel and Iranian terror proxies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

Iran and Israel have also traded direct missile attacks against each other, with the Jewish state inflicting damage and making Tehran’s nuclear sites, which are reportedly just weeks away from being operational, more vulnerable.

Trump pilloried Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he both faced at separate points during the 2024 race, for allowing the conflict to happen.

“The war caused by the attack on Israel … would never have happened if I was president,” the former president said during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “Iran was broke. Iran had no money. Now Iran has $250 billion. They made it all over the last two and a half years.”

Jewish voters in the US backed a Republican presidential nominee by the highest margins since George H.W. Bush, according to data from a 2024 Fox News voter analysis and the Jewish Virtual Library.

About a third (32%) of Jewish voters cast a ballot for Trump on Nov. 5.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is currently Arkansas’ governor, could hardly contain her excitement, posting on X that she was “unbelievably proud” of her dad.

“I went to Israel for the first time with my dad when I was eleven and it changed my life,” said Sanders, who also served formerly as a Trump White House press secretary.

“There is no one President Trump could have picked with a greater love for the Israeli people and commitment to the unbreakable bond between America and Israel than him. Love you dad!” she added.

The evangelical leader is widely seen as both a Trump loyalist and staunch pro-Israel advocate, who will assume authority at a critical time.

“There is no better person to represent the American people in Jerusalem at this time,” said Sandra Hagee Parker, chairwoman of the Christians United for Israel Action Fund, an evangelical group.

“Gov. Mike Huckabee believes in Israel’s right to self-determination and defense, not because it is politically convenient to do so but because these are immutable tenets of his core beliefs,” Parker said.

“Whether serving his congregation as a Pastor or his constituents as Governor, Huckabee has both the heart and mind for this Ambassadorship, and we know he will work tirelessly to ensure the relationship between America and Israel remains stronger than ever.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition also celebrated the pick, calling Huckabee “a man of deep faith” with an “abounding love of Israel and its people … second to none.”

“As the Jewish state continues to fight an existential war for survival against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Governor Huckabee will represent America’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security with distinction,” the group said in a statement.

“A long-time friend of the RJC, we know Governor Huckabee will strengthen the US-Israel relationship to even greater heights.”

Reps for Huckabee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.