The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, warning that his appointment will undermine the rights and safety of Muslim and Christian Palestinians, including American citizens living in or traveling to the region.
The Senate voted 53-46 on Wednesday to confirm Huckabee, a staunch pro-Israel Republican, with every Republican and only one Democrat—Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania—voting in favor of his nomination.
CAIR previously sent a formal letter to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and all Senate offices opposing Huckabee’s nomination.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Department Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“By confirming Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Senate has embraced a nominee who denies the existence of Palestinians, justifies illegal Israeli settlements, and traffics in anti-Muslim bigotry. This isn’t diplomacy—it’s moral abandonment.
“His confirmation sends a dangerous message to Palestinian Christians and Muslims, including American citizens, that their lives and rights are disposable.
“While U.S. citizens like 14-year-old Omar Mohammad Rabea are being killed by Israeli forces without consequences, our government should be demanding justice—not appointing people who excuse the violence.”
For years, Huckabee has denied the existence of Palestinians, defended illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and refused to acknowledge Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories. Huckabee has claimed there is “no such thing as a Palestinian,” referred to the West Bank only as “Judea and Samaria,” and insisted that there is “no occupation,” contradicting international law and U.S. State Department designations. He has also compared Muslim prayer to “pornographic films” and claimed Muslims believe Christians should be “obliterated,” rhetoric that fuels Islamophobia and erodes U.S. diplomatic credibility.
Awad noted that just days before Huckabee’s confirmation, Israeli forces reportedly shot and killed 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea near the entrance of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. government has yet to hold any Israeli settler or soldier accountable for killing an American citizen, including Shireen Abu Akleh, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, Tawfiq Ajaq, Mohammad Khdour, Omar Assad, Rachel Corrie, and World Central Kitchen aid worker Jacob Flickinger.
CAIR ACTION ALERT: Demand DOJ Prosecute Israelis Responsible for Murdering American Teenager Omar Rabea & Other U.S. Citizens
Huckabee’s appointment comes just days after President Trump hosted at the White House the wanted war criminal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is responsible for the genocide of more than 61,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—carried out with U.S. financial, military, and political support.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com