News
January 21, 2026
Huckabee Responds to Jerusalem Patriarchs on Israel’s Right to Exist
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is pushing back on a statement from senior Christian church leaders in Jerusalem who warned against “damaging ideologies” such as “Christian Zionism,” saying no Christian tradition should claim it alone represents the religion in the Holy Land.
Huckabee, posting Tuesday on X, said he respects “traditional, liturgical churches,” but objected to what he described as an exclusivity claim in the church leaders’ letter.
“I love my brothers and sisters in Christ from traditional, liturgical churches and respect their views, but I do not feel any sect of the Christian faith should claim exclusivity in speaking for Christians worldwide or assume there is only one viewpoint regarding faith in the Holy Land,” he wrote.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is pushing back on a statement from senior Christian church leaders in Jerusalem who warned against “damaging ideologies” such as “Christian Zionism,” saying no Christian tradition should claim it alone represents the religion in the Holy Land.
Huckabee, posting Tuesday on X, said he respects “traditional, liturgical churches,” but objected to what he described as an exclusivity claim in the church leaders’ letter.
“I love my brothers and sisters in Christ from traditional, liturgical churches and respect their views, but I do not feel any sect of the Christian faith should claim exclusivity in speaking for Christians worldwide or assume there is only one viewpoint regarding faith in the Holy Land,” he wrote.
He also tied that worldview to the West and the United States.
“Without the Judeo-Christian worldview, there would be no Western Civilization, and without Western Civilization, there would be no America,” Huckabee wrote.
Huckabee framed the debate as one with implications for Christian belief more broadly.
“The thought that God is even capable of breaking a covenant is anathema to those of us who embrace Holy Scripture as the authority of the church,” he wrote. “If God can or would break His covenant with the Jews, then what hope would Christians have that He would keep His covenant with us?”
He challenged the term used in the church leaders’ statement, saying “labels such as ‘Christian Zionism’ are too often used in a pejorative manner to disparage free-church believers, of which there are millions across the planet.”
He then offered his own definition: “Christians are followers of Christ and a Zionist simply accepts that the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient, indigenous, and Biblical homeland.”
“It’s hard for me to understand why everyone who takes on the moniker ‘Christian’ would not also be a Zionist,” Huckabee added, while arguing that view does not equate to support for any particular Israeli administration.
“It’s not a commitment to a particular government or government policy, but to the Biblical revelation as given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” he wrote.
He urged Christians to unite around shared priorities, including “the sanctity of life, the sacred act of marriage, the autonomy of the individual, the desire to lift up every human and alleviate human suffering, and the belief that grace is God’s gift to us all.”
