US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has been warmly received by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From his full-throated support of ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza to his sharp criticism of European countries that labeled those actions “intolerable” and his pointed unwillingness to stand in the way of Israeli strikes on Iran, Huckabee has struck all the right chords with the ruling Israeli coalition.
In many ways, Huckabee appears to mirror the Trump playbook. On a recent podcast appearance with Bari Weiss, he proudly proclaimed that he was “more MAGA than anyone” and claimed that he had embodied MAGA long before it became mainstream. US President Donald Trump, in turn, has called him a “GREAT” ambassador via Truth Social, signaling mutual admiration.
Despite these apparent similarities, a fundamental divergence defines the two figures: Huckabee’s spiritual, faith-driven evangelicalism vs Trump’s transactional, deal-driven Middle East diplomacy.
Huckabee makes no secret of how his attitudes toward Israel have been largely characterized by his Christian faith. As an ordained Southern Baptist pastor and devout Evangelical, Huckabee views the US-Israel relationship as one bound up in Judeo-Christian brotherhood. As he put it in a recent interview with Arutz Sheva, the US-Israel relationship is “not only geopolitical and economic” but also a “spiritual relationship.”
Huckabee also routinely expresses his belief in a divine providence protecting Israel, which he claims is protected by something “bigger” than the Iron Dome: “God’s Dome.” He also makes the case for Israeli settlements in the West Bank in strictly religious terms.
Insisting on the use of the name Judea and Samaria, he recently made history as the first American ambassador to hold an official meeting in the region during his visit to Shiloh. This religious fervor has been warmly received by the religious Zionists in Netanyahu’s coalition.
Contrast this with Trump, a man who views the Middle East in highly transactional terms. The success of the Abraham Accords in his first term has meant that Trump is set on using the same economically driven framework to broker further peace deals in the region.
There is no clearer indication of this than his recent visit to the Gulf states, of which the highlight was a $3.2 trillion deal. Trump was perfectly willing to overlook the authoritarian governance of the Gulf and make deals with countries like Qatar, the home to Hamas’s political wing.
The president’s transactional approach to the Middle East does not just stop in the Gulf; it extends to Iran. Trump’s actions following the short-lived Israel-Iran war clearly showed that the president was after “an end, a real end, not a ceasefire.” The Trump administration has also expressed an interest in accessing Iran’s energy, infrastructure, and consumer markets, areas that have long been subject to international sanctions in the name of a nuclear deal with the Iranians.
This, coupled with Trump’s actions in the Gulf, suggests his approach to the Middle East is falling further into the transactional camp. Big deals that bolster American economic might are increasingly preferred to alignment with nations based on values and approaches to global politics.
<br><strong>What do these differences between Huckabee and Trump mean for Israel?</strong>
So far, the US ambassador has denied any rift between Washington and Jerusalem. When asked why Trump did not make a stop in Israel during his visit to the Gulf, Huckabee insisted that it was not a “snub” and that the president’s trip was purely for “economic development” purposes.
However, it would be overly simplistic to view President Trump’s visit as an effort solely to strengthen economic ties. Economic engagement often goes together with deeper political alignment, and the US appears poised to strengthen its influence in the Gulf region.
For instance, while in Riyadh, Trump shook hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a man who holds an extremely hostile attitude toward Israel and who has recently been clamping down on minority communities in his country, including the Druze. This is without accounting for the notably cordial relationship Trump maintains with the emir of Qatar – a man who openly plays host to Hamas’s political leadership in his country’s capital city.
Huckabee has also emphasized that President Trump’s position on Iran remains unchanged since his first term: Tehran will never have a nuclear weapon. While Trump’s direct action against Iran is commendable, it is becoming increasingly obvious that behind closed doors, the Trump administration is being influenced by a number of Gulf state leaders to make a deal with Iran.
A deal with Iran on President Trump’s terms would either force the hand of the Israeli government or put them at odds with their most important ally. So, while Huckabee may be confident in Trump’s Iran policy for now, there is potential for collision further down the line.
While it may appear subtle for now, the line coming from the US embassy in Jerusalem is becoming increasingly different than the one coming from the White House. Huckabee has done an effective job in disguising US-Israeli differences in the flowery language of religion and spirituality. However, divisions between Jerusalem and Washington could become too significant to simply brush over.
Trump’s transactional approach to the Middle East is bound to prevail over Huckabee’s sentimental style. It will not be long before significant disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem transition away from private discussions and toward the public airwaves.
The writer serves as a policy fellow at the Pinsker Centre, a UK-based think tank focusing on international relations and Middle Eastern affairs.