Huckabee's Israel land remarks condemned as 'dangerous' as controversy rumbles on

[malaise]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mike-huckabee-israel-comments-condemned-arab-muslim-countries

Arab and Islamic countries jointly condemned remarks by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who suggested Israel had a biblical right to a vast swath of the Middle East.

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and a fervent Israel supporter, was speaking on the podcast of Tucker Carlson.

In an episode released on Friday, Carlson pushed Huckabee on the meaning of a biblical verse sometimes interpreted as saying that Israel is entitled to the land between the Nile River in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq.

In response, Huckabee said: “It would be fine if they took it all.”

When pressed, however, he continued that Israel was “not asking to take all of that”, adding: “It was somewhat of a hyperbolic statement.”

The backlash widened sharply on Sunday as more than a dozen Arab and Islamic governments – alongside three major regional organisations – issued a joint statement denouncing the US diplomat’s comments as “dangerous and inflammatory”.
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[Irish_Dem]

1. The Trump Crime Syndicate continues to take a wrecking ball to the world.

[oasis]

2. Hucksterbee was born to be a a con-artist.

[malaise]

3. One more effin

Xtian nationalist

I hate all religions equally

[PatSeg]

7. He's definitely a snake oil salesman

He's been peddling all kinds of crap for years - books, videos, diets, and of course his version of Christianity.

[mwmisses4289]

4. Huckster and his family are redemptionists

(is that the word? the ones who believe god will take them to heaven and leave everyone else behind?)
Anyway, while they see Israelis as jesusless heathens, according to them it is necessary for isreal to take over as much territory as possible so the judgement day will come.
Wonder what the christian fundamentalists would do if god really did come down, looked at them and asked why didn't you follow the sermon on the mount, just before striking them dead?

[malaise]

5. ROFL

Rec

[leftstreet]

6. He sounds more like an Ambassador to the US

DURec

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. MaddowBlog-Huckabee's Israel comments spark controversy, adding to Trump's ambassadorial woes

In recent days, we’ve received multiple reminders: Donald Trump’s diplomats could stand to be more diplomatic.

Three U.S. ambassadors sparked three international incidents over the course of a week:
- Ambassador to Belgium Bill White
- Ambassador to France Charles Kushner
- Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee

But Huckabee’s controversy is clearly generating the biggest backlash.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-23T21:49:32.679Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/huckabees-israel-comments-spark-controversy-adding-to-trumps-ambassadorial-woes

But in between developments in Brussels and Paris, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sparked an even more serious controversy. The New York Times reported:

Remarks by Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, prompted a storm of condemnation from Arab leaders over the weekend after he suggested that it ‘would be fine’ if Israel took lands stretching across the Middle East from Egypt to Iraq.

Mr. Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and a staunch supporter of Israel, made the comments during a two-hour interview with the provocative right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, which aired on Friday.

To put it mildly, many in the region were not impressed. Politico reported that the backlash included public criticism from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry described Huckabee’s comment as “extremist rhetoric” and “unacceptable,” while Egypt’s foreign ministry called the remark a “blatant violation” of international law. The League of Arab States added, “Statements of this nature — extremist and lacking any sound basis — serve only to inflame sentiments and stir religious and national emotions.”

Over the weekend, Huckabee tried to walk back his comments, insisting that he was taken out of context. In the same interview, the ambassador, who previously served as governor of Arkansas, said Israel isn’t trying to “take all of that,” though he added, “They are asking to at least take the land that they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them.”