WATCH: Joel Rosenberg recaps Mike Huckabee’s historic first week as US ambassador to Israel: Faith, symbolism and diplomacy
From the Western Wall through the Garden Tomb to the President’s Residence – follow the special moments from Huckabee’s first steps in Israel on THE ROSENBERG REPORT this week
It was a symbolic week for the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Despite having visited in Israel more than 100 times over the span of his political career, his early days of his diplomatic role were described by ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg as “historic at so many levels.”
Rosenberg, a longtime friend of Huckabee and his wife Janet, has accompanied him in his meaningful first steps as the U.S. top diplomat to the Jewish state.
“Mike Huckabee is the first devoutly, openly, unashamedly evangelical Christian ever to be appointed by an American president to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the world's only Jewish state. This is a big deal,” Rosenberg told ALL ISRAEL NEWS Senior Correspondent Tal Heinrich.
“Most of the U.S. ambassadors to Israel over the last quarter century or so have been Jewish,” he said, explaining why this is such a dramatic moment for the Christian Evangelicals.
Upon arriving in Israel on Good Friday, Huckabee went straight to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. This wasn’t just a personal visit. Huckabee carried with him a handwritten note from President Trump, calling for peace in the region.
“Then, he came to the empty tomb – what's known as the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem – for a sunrise Easter service, celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. I guarantee you, there has been no U.S. ambassador in the history of the relationship between U.S. and Israel who has ever come to an Easter service. It just never has happened. So that was pretty dramatic,” Rosenberg continued.
On Monday, Rosenberg was one of the few guests who were invited to a solemn and heartfelt ceremony at the Israeli president’s residence in which Huckabee has officially accepted his credentials.
“It was very special, very warm. President Isaac Herzog calling Mike Huckabee his not just his friend, but his brother,” Rosenberg described the occasion.
“Now I come back as a wild-eyed old man,” Huckabee said with characteristic humor, “but still with a sense of absolute joy... I am in a land that God Himself said, ‘This is mine and these are my people.’”
The relationship between Huckabee and the State of Israel and its top officials is one of deep connection. The former Arkansas Governor has been coming to the Jewish State since 1973 and has brought along with him over the years thousands of Evangelical leaders to tour the land. Including a solidarity mission, he hosted along with Joel Rosenberg and The Joshua Fund in December 2023, shortly after the Hamas Oct. 7 attack.
This is why Rosenberg views Huckabee's arrival in Israel as an increased elevation of evangelical influence in Israel.
“I think most Israelis really have very little contact with Evangelicals,” he argued. For that reason, Huckabee’s choice to go straight to the Western Wall – the last remnants of the first and second temples – speaks volumes of his pro-Israel, pro-Jewish stance.
“It was important that he didn't first go to the site of Jesus's death and burial and resurrection. I'm so glad that he did, because it means he's saying to the nation and the world, ‘I really am an evangelical,'” Rosenberg stressed.
In a conversation the two of them held on THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN, right after Huckabee was tapped for the role by President Trump, Huckabee said being appointed was a personal “Isiah moment” for him.
“He didn't seek to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel. He didn't lobby his friend, President Donald Trump at any point. He got a phone call… Huckabee was in shock, and in fact, Janet wasn't even home,” Rosenberg told Heinrich.
“Did he tell you anything about the dramatic confirmation hearings he has been through for the role?” Tal asked.
Joel replied that those were tougher than what Huckabee had anticipated.
“I think there was so much more opposition than any of us anticipated,” he said. “He should have been, He should have been confirmed, you know, a hundred to nothing… In the end, it was 53-47 and only one Democrat voted for him. I'm glad it was bipartisan. This is John Fetterman of, of Pennsylvania, who has really shown himself during this war as being super pro-Israel and bless him for that.”
Rosenberg interpreted the blistering criticism of Huckabee during the hearings as “religious bigotry” for reasons that are not grounded in his love for Israel or capability of doing the job.
“We saw a lot of religious bigotry. A lot of attacks on Mike's Christian faith, Evangelical Christian faith. And that was very painful,” Joel concluded.
Nevertheless, Huckabee was confirmed.
He told Rosenberg that he got “emotional” when he heard the American anthem playing as he walked down the red carpet, arriving at the president's home, to begin his official service.
Watch THE ROSENEBRG REPORT’s next episode for special coverage of Ambassador Huckabee’s journey in Israel on the TBN website.
The Rosenberg Report airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 10 p.m. EST on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
