Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, brought Democrats, antisemites and some Jews together in protest.
Huckabee’s opening remarks were interrupted by shouts of “Jews say no!” and “Free Palestine!” by protesters.
Others claimed Huckabee, a former church pastor, misrepresents Christianity to justify ethnic cleansing, Fox News reported.
“You can know a lot about someone by who hates them, and so you look at the entire Democrat Party,” Hibbs, pastor at Calvay Chapel-Chino Hills, said on American Family Radio Wednesday. “This cannot happen in their worldview. Mike Huckabee loves Jesus too much, loves the Bible, and is concerned for Israel.”
There will be more protests to come, Hibbs told show host Jenna Ellis.
“Huckabee is despised by those who detest the Bible. Trump has literally appointed the most Bible-believing, born-again, Christ-worshipping, Israel-loving ambassador that this nation has ever seen … ever.”
Lost among the protesters is that a U.S. ambassador to Israel is to represent the interests of Israel and the United States, not the interests of the Palestinians or any other country, Hibbs said.
“He’s going to represent the United States to Israel, and he’s a perfect fit,” Hibbs insisted.
Trump’s appointment of Huckabee, 69, aligns with the strong pro-Israel policies of his administration displayed so far. These policies stand in contrast to those of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Democrat presidents, whose Israel policies were strongly criticized by Huckabee.
Huckabee has steadfastly opposed a so-called "two-state solution" for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a solution that presumably would mean for Israel the loss of the Judea and Samaria regions – known as the West Bank – significant areas in the Jewish and Christian faiths.
At the hearing Huckabee would not be backed into a corner on the two-state question, when asked by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) whether he supported the idea of Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
“Judea and Samaria, but it would not be my prerogative to make that the policy of the President,” Huckabee answered.
“Do you support the annexation of Gaza as well?” Merkley asked.
“Senator, once again, it would (have to) be the prerogative of the President,” Huckabee answered.
Imbalance in media coverage
News coverage of the Huckabee confirmation is out of touch with most Americans, Hibbs said.
“Isn't it interesting that when 50 protesters for, say, Palestinian issues or Muslim issues show up, boy, all the cameras are there, and it gets the national or international news. Then there's that silent majority that was referred to decades ago that if they show up in mass, it's barely covered at all.”
But the silent majority is waking up, of all places, in California, the bluest of blue states, Hibbs says.
It’s a relevant point in the Huckabee discussion, which he sees as a commonsense pick from Trump who is standing up for an ally and the will of most Americans.
“The groundswell of common sense in California is soon going to be seen by the nation and the world. Translate that into what's going on with Governor Huckabee. The fact that he is the right man for the job sends the message to the woke ideology, the pro-Muslim group, anti-Israel group: We cannot have this,” Hibbs said.
Several states have seen efforts to create Muslim-centric neighborhoods, which many state officials have feared would be followed by an attempt to impose Sharia law, a system of religious laws within Islam that is derived from the Quran.
The EPIC City project near Dallas is one recent example.
Hibbs cited similar efforts in New Jersey where the city of Paterson, 25 miles west of The Bronx borough of New York City, has begun to see itself as “Little Palestine.”
“A shocking transformation is unfolding in Paterson, New Jersey, where local officials are rapidly reshaping the city into an Islamic stronghold. Once a beacon of American industry and blue-collar resilience, Paterson has become a case study in how unchecked Islamic immigration, demographic shifts, and political pandering can erode a city’s original identity,” writes the group Rise Align Ignite Reclaim at RairFoundation.com.
“There’s a town in New Jersey that just became a total Muslim city council, and they quickly implemented parts of Sharia law in New Jersey. Listen, if they have the chance, they're going to do what their religious worldview is,” Hibbs said. “If we stand up in our own nation, a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian worldview values, they throw a fit.”
More than Huckabee in this conversation
The opposition to Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel is not only about Huckabee, Hibbs said.
“It's them being passionate enough for their worldview to expose themselves that we cannot stand to acknowledge the nation of Israel. If anybody knows Islam, Israel cannot exist if Islam is going to advance. This is fundamental Islamic apologetic that Israel must be destroyed,” Hibbs said.
What’s happening in America right now is a “beautiful reformation” of U.S. politics, Hibbs said.
But the church has to respond.
“We need to see a revival among the church to understand, ‘wait a minute. America is a nation founded upon the scriptures because we read our founding fathers, and they used the Bible for the argument to come here and create a nation under God. It’s that simple,” he said.
