U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee appeared to soften recent criticism from Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, stressing that the U.S.-Israel relationship is not a one-sided arrangement and that Israel provides major benefits to Americans.
Speaking at the Herzliya Conference of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University, Huckabee said some people in the United States, and perhaps in Israel as well, view the relationship as one in which Washington gives and Israel receives. He said that perception misses the value Israel brings to the United States.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee
(Video: IPS)
“Sometimes people in America and perhaps even here in Israel will say, America, you know, they do stuff for Israel,” Huckabee said. “I want to be very clear. Israel does a lot of things for America, and I appreciate it. It is not a one-way street.”
Huckabee said Americans benefit from the relationship in fields including technology, agriculture and intelligence.
“There are benefits that we get in technology, benefits that we get in agriculture, benefits that we receive because of the relationship of intelligence that you share with us,” he said. “That saves, protects and takes care of Americans all over the world.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee: 'Israel does a lot of things for America, and I appreciate it. It is not a one-way street'
(Photo: IPS)
He added that many innovations used by Americans are often taken for granted, joking that Americans may be “arrogant enough” to believe they invented everything themselves.
“Whether it’s the facial recognition systems that make it easier to go through an airport, or whether it’s some of the computer chips that run every single computer that we personally own, whether it’s car navigation systems or whether it’s more practical things like cherry tomatoes or seedless watermelons. Maybe the most important things are those,” Huckabee said.
“But whatever it may be, it is a matter that we have because there is a relationship that I personally want to just express is a great benefit to the 330 million people of America,” he said. “And I hope that the 10 million people of Israel find it to be as satisfying for you as it is for us.”
His remarks came less than two weeks after Vance delivered an unusually sharp message to Israeli Cabinet members following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran and criticism voiced in Jerusalem.
At a press conference, Vance said that if he were a member of Israel’s government, he “possibly would not attack the only strong ally that I have left in the entire world.” He said U.S. President Donald Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the State of Israel right now,” and warned against criticizing the White House at a sensitive moment in the relationship.
Vance also drew strong reactions in Israel when he said that “over the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive munitions that have protected your homeland were made by American hands and paid for by the American taxpayer.”
He added that “Israel’s problem is not Donald Trump,” and said anyone who believes otherwise “needs to wake up and recognize the reality that the country is in.”
The remarks caused surprise in Israel, with some commentators and diplomatic officials seeing them as a sign of American pressure, or even a warning that future U.S. support could come with clearer limits.
Against that backdrop, Huckabee’s comments at the Herzliya Conference appeared to shift the emphasis back to mutual benefit and strategic partnership. He closed his remarks by blessing both Israel and the United States ahead of America’s 250th Independence Day.
“Thank you very much,” he said. “God bless you and God bless the United States on its 250th birthday.”