Memo to Mike Huckabee: Please Watch this Video

As you all know, Gail and I are extremely happy with the results of the recent election.  In fact, we’re ecstatic.  We are not naive however.

Some of Donald Trump’s appointments have left us asking some questions (to say the least).  One of them is Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee by all accounts, is a fine man.  And a devout Evangelical.  There is no whiff of scandal around him and, given the fact that he’s been in politics for the better part of thirty years, that’s saying a lot.

However, because of his Evangelical faith, his slavish devotion to the modern state of Israel is troubling.  I have no problem with the state of Israel per se.  And I would have no problem with Huckabee if he was as sober-minded about Israel –or any earthly state for that matter–as all men should be.

The problem is that as far as modern American Evangelicals are concerned, Israel can do no wrong.  They have a deliriously insane (one could say blasphemous) view of the Jewish state, one which is devoid of all perspective.  Hence the reason I call them “Israel-firsters”.

As for the Orthodox Church’s stance on “Christian Zionism”, let us read what Archbishop Attalah Hannah has to say:  “We do not recognize what is called ‘Christian Zionism.’ This term does not exist in our Christian literature or ecclesiastical lexicon. The blending of Christianity and Zionism is entirely condemned and rejected by us, especially as Christianity is a religion of love, mercy, brotherhood, and peace, while Zionism is a racist and terrorist movement responsible for the disasters and setbacks our people have faced, culminating in the genocide being perpetrated against our beloved brothers and sisters in Gaza.” https://x.com/chunguskitten/status/1857999263474606299

Let us be clear:  the modern state of Israel is undertaking a program of collective retribution that is out of all proportion to the initial attacks which were initiated by Hamas in October of 2023.  Many label this as a genocide, others as an ethnic cleansing.  Semantics aside, the punishment that is being meted out to the Palestinians of Gaza is horrible.  Even Jewish groups in America have condemned the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu.

That being said, the tribal vengeance that Israeli soldiers are displaying against Arabs in general  is truly horrible.  And make no mistake, Christian Arabs are also suffering.  Some of the punishment is particularly blasphemous.

As you can see from the story below, Israeli soldiers in Lebanon recently desecrated an Orthodox church, mocked the icons and performed a mock homosexual marriage*:

https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-soldiers-desecrate-church-south-lebanon

We call on Mike Huckabee to unreservedly condemn these actions.  And we hope that as Ambassador to Israel, he remembers that he is an American first and not a sectarian who burns incense before the heretical idol known as “Christian Zionism.”

As a Christian, he will have to give an account of that belief –especially if it leads to additional bloodshed.

*I had a video of the incident uploaded but it went to “Error 404” land.  However, it’s still on my Telegram page.