U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made a sweeping declaration on Tuesday, asserting that the United States owes its very existence to the Jewish heritage tied to the land of Israel.
Huckabee delivered his remarks at the International Conference on Israeli Heritage in Judea and Samaria, where he described communicating Israel’s significance to Americans as a core part of his role as ambassador.
“It is your heritage, without a doubt, but it is also the heritage of the United States. Without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there would not be America. We owe our very existence to what happened in this land,” Huckabee said.
His comments followed statements made by President Donald Trump at the G7 summit on the same day, where Trump addressed U.S.-Israel relations and weighed in on Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Without the US, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did. I have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” Trump said.
Trump also indicated that Israel had been engaged in fighting in Lebanon for too long, and said he had proposed that Syria take on the responsibility of dealing with the Hezbollah threat.
Reports indicate that Israeli strikes on Hezbollah have been the subject of reportedly heated private exchanges between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the past two weeks.
Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz have both maintained that Israel reserves the right to keep forces in Lebanon and carry out operations against Hezbollah whenever needed to safeguard communities in northern Israel.
