Trump's Israel ambassador? A guy who jokes about Jews in ovens
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On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a longtime Republican commentator, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” But Huckabee’s nomination comes with a controversial past that raises eyebrows, especially given the region’s current conflict. After all, this is the same Mike Huckabee who made reprehensible comments about Jews in 2015. After then-President Barack Obama signed a nuclear deal with Iran, Huckabee claimed that Obama was marching Israelis “to the door of the oven.” Facing significant blowback, including from the Anti-Defamation League, Huckabee backtracked by alleging that the Jewish community loved his Holocaust reference. But naturally, conservative media—from Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to far-right outlet Breitbart—rushed to his defense at the time. Still, Huckabee’s history of insensitive remarks extends beyond that infamous statement. In 2006, after radio host Don Imus said he looked “emaciated,” Huckabee again riffed on the Holocaust. "I have just come out of six weeks at a concentration camp held by the Democrat Party of Arkansas in an undisclosed location, making a hostage tape," said Huckabee, then the governor of Arkansas. "That's why I look that way." Aside from his nearly 11 years in the governor’s mansion, Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist minister who has since become a conservative media figure. He has long led evangelical tours of Israel based in a belief of the nation’s importance to Christianity’s end-times prophecies. He also unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current governor of Arkansas and was previously Trump’s former White House press secretary and infamous for her lying. The elder Huckabee’s nomination comes as the Israel-Hamas war has led to sky-high tensions in the region. In its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Hamas reportedly killed approximately 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has reportedly killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians. Throughout this year's presidential campaign, Trump has vowed that as president he will continue the United States' support of Israel. In addition to his crassness toward Jews and the Holocaust, Huckabee said during his 2008 presidential campaign that “there's really no such thing as a Palestinian.” "You have Arabs and Persians," Huckabee said. "And there's such complexity in that. But there's really no such thing. That's been a political tool to try and force land away from Israel." As Huckabee prepares for his new role, many will be watching to see whether his rhetoric on Israel and the Middle East will align with the current U.S. administration's policies, and how it will impact the region and beyond. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/12/2285693/-Trump-s-Israel-ambassador-A-guy-who-jokes-about-Jews-in-ovens?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a longtime Republican commentator, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” But Huckabee’s nomination comes with a controversial past that raises eyebrows, especially given the region’s current conflict. After all, this is the same Mike Huckabee who made reprehensible comments about Jews in 2015. After then-President Barack Obama signed a nuclear deal with Iran, Huckabee claimed that Obama was marching Israelis “to the door of the oven.” Facing significant blowback, including from the Anti-Defamation League, Huckabee backtracked by alleging that the Jewish community loved his Holocaust reference. But naturally, conservative media—from Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to far-right outlet Breitbart—rushed to his defense at the time. Still, Huckabee’s history of insensitive remarks extends beyond that infamous statement. In 2006, after radio host Don Imus said he looked “emaciated,” Huckabee again riffed on the Holocaust. "I have just come out of six weeks at a concentration camp held by the Democrat Party of Arkansas in an undisclosed location, making a hostage tape," said Huckabee, then the governor of Arkansas. "That's why I look that way." Aside from his nearly 11 years in the governor’s mansion, Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist minister who has since become a conservative media figure. He has long led evangelical tours of Israel based in a belief of the nation’s importance to Christianity’s end-times prophecies. He also unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current governor of Arkansas and was previously Trump’s former White House press secretary and infamous for her lying. The elder Huckabee’s nomination comes as the Israel-Hamas war has led to sky-high tensions in the region. In its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Hamas reportedly killed approximately 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has reportedly killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians. Throughout this year's presidential campaign, Trump has vowed that as president he will continue the United States' support of Israel. In addition to his crassness toward Jews and the Holocaust, Huckabee said during his 2008 presidential campaign that “there's really no such thing as a Palestinian.” "You have Arabs and Persians," Huckabee said. "And there's such complexity in that. But there's really no such thing. That's been a political tool to try and force land away from Israel." As Huckabee prepares for his new role, many will be watching to see whether his rhetoric on Israel and the Middle East will align with the current U.S. administration's policies, and how it will impact the region and beyond. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/12/2285693/-Trump-s-Israel-ambassador-A-guy-who-jokes-about-Jews-in-ovens?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main