Kudos to Huckabee: It's time for a Christian ambassador to Israel - opinion

Initially, this was written to be provocative, to change the paradigm, and to propose a new model that had the ability to serve the interests of the US and Israel, not in conflict but in friendship and harmony.

Just before press time, it was announced that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is being tapped by president-elect Donald Trump to serve as US ambassador to Israel, checking all the boxes of what’s been proposed below.

Huckabee is an excellent choice and we all should wish him lots of success.

Why the US should send a Christian ambassador to Israel

In the late 1980s, armed with a liberal arts degree and with no particular work experience or specialty beyond Middle Eastern studies, I applied for several entry-level positions with US federal agencies that could lead to a career. In one job interview, my loyalty as an American was tested when I was asked: “In case of a war between Israel and the US, which country would you support?”

I was thrown by the question, which raised the ageless canard of Jews having dual loyalty. This accusation is unique because it predates the State of Israel; with a handful of exceptions, particularly at a time of war, it is leveled uniquely at Jews under any circumstance.

My answer to the interviewer was a lesson in why a war would never happen, and how for many reasons the US and Israel are, and need to be, essential allies. I was sure that he had never asked anyone of any other religious, ethnic, or national group that question, with the possible exception of Iranian Americans. 

After giving careful consideration, I declined to go back for further interviews. Even if I could have been a good employee and benefited my country, I was not prepared to start a career where I was going to be under extra scrutiny as a Jew. 

Several years later, and well into my career without being under suspicion, I was intrigued by the appointment of the first Jewish-American ambassador to Israel. Martyn Indyk, born in London, became a naturalized US citizen shortly before he was appointed ambassador in 1995.

He was the subject of a controversial FBI investigation, causing his security clearance to be temporarily stripped, and leading some to say that he was being made a (Jewish) scapegoat for security lapses, which are not uncommon among diplomats. 

Since then, I’ve been uncomfortable with the trend of appointing American Jews as ambassadors to Israel. Indyk became the first of seven Jewish ambassadors, out of 20 American ambassadors to Israel since James McDonald served as the first American ambassador in 1949. 

To me, having a Jewish American ambassador invites scrutiny and suspicions, if not overt accusations of dual loyalty. While the job of any ambassador is to represent the interests of his/her nation to another nation, a Jewish ambassador to Israel is like being a kid in a candy store for a conspiracy-minded (antisemitic) person looking to find any excuse to make dual loyalty accusations. 

Accordingly, a Jewish ambassador to Israel needs to go out of his way to dispel any suspicion of dual loyalty, which may often put him in the particularly uncomfortable position to be especially harsh relating to Israel’s interests. 

A non-Jew does not experience this. He can be a more reliable US representative to Israel without every move, statement, and meeting with Israelis coming under microscopic investigation. 

I understand the novelty of having a Jewish ambassador to Israel, and that outside of career diplomats, probably more American Jews are more knowledgeable about Israel and the Middle East on a per capita basis. It’s unnecessary, possibly uncomfortable, and even counterproductive pandering to American Jews. And it does not necessarily serve the best interests of the US or Israel. 

NOW, WITH a slew of new ambassadors scheduled to be appointed as the incoming Trump administration gets its team together, it’s time to have the US appoint a Christian ambassador to Israel. Interestingly, of all the 13 other American ambassadors, based on research of their bios, only a handful identified as Christians in a way meaningful enough to make it to Wikipedia. 

By comparison, all of the seven Jewish American ambassadors are identified as Jews in their respective Wikipedia profiles. Perhaps the most identifiable Christian American ambassador to Israel was McDonald, appointed by president Harry Truman, also a Christian, and the first ambassador to present his credentials to the new state. 

Not only is McDonald’s faith evident throughout his book My Mission in Israel 1948-1951, with biblical verses at the beginning of each chapter, he writes as a Christian whose faith is central. Because of that, he was a staunch advocate for Israel and provided aid to Jews throughout Europe before and during the Holocaust. 

Ambassador McDonald personified the terms “Righteous Gentile” and “Christian Zionist,” but he was never under scrutiny because of his faith – except for those State Department employees who were less friendly to Israel or the idea of US support for Israel.

It is a great step that the US will now appoint an ambassador to Israel who is a biblical Christian, whose faith grounds him in the knowledge of Israel’s being a realization of a prophecy, that support for Israel is an imperative individually and nationally, who is an honest, loyal American and can represent US interests in Israel, even when there are differences of opinions, without allegations of being a traitor. 

Christians who support Israel make up at least one-third of the US population, most of whom voted for Donald Trump and whose interests vis-à-vis Israel are shared. This would be a meaningful acknowledgment of that, and a hat tip to a strong part of the base that elected Trump. 

As a Bible-believing Christian, and serving as the next American ambassador to Israel, Huckabee can both be a friend to Israel and represent US interests, helping to smooth over differences as a friend, and as a reliable representative of Israeli attitudes and expectations to the US. McDonald represented that loyally and effectively.

It’s time for the US to appoint a Christian American ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is an outstanding choice. I look forward to hosting him at my home for Shabbat. 

The writer is president of the Genesis 123 Foundation, which builds bridges between Jews and Christians. He is the host of the Inspiration from Zion podcast and publisher of Israel the Miracle, a collection of 75 essays by global Christian leaders on why Israel is so important. He can be reached at FirstPersonIsrael@gmail.com.