August 20, 2025, New York, NY – The American Jewish Congress, in partnership with the World Zionist Organization, hosted U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on August 19, 2025, for an online conversation that drew wide attention for its clarity and candor. The event was moderated by Assaf Weiss, Vice President of the American Jewish Congress, with opening remarks from Daniel Rosen, President of the American Jewish Congress, and Tova Dorfman, President of the World Zionist Organization.
Ambassador Huckabee spoke with directness about the urgent issues facing Israel, the United States, and the region. He delivered updates on hostage negotiations with Hamas, assessed Gaza’s uncertain future, underscored America’s common values with Israel, and reinforced his deep support for the U.S.–Israel partnership.
On ongoing hostage talks, Huckabee cautioned that optimism must be tempered with realism: “We’re not dealing with honorable people. We’re dealing with savages… I’m always going to be optimistic. It’s my nature. But I’m also realistic and I understand that Hamas is not like dealing with an honorable opponent.”
Looking to Gaza’s future, the Ambassador declared that Hamas cannot be left in power: “Leaving Hamas in Gaza, letting them have some future there would be like leaving the Nazis in Germany after World War II… It would be equally absurd to let Hamas claim some form of victory in all of this because to do so means you’ll have another October 7th and then another.”
Huckabee also delivered a sharp warning to Tehran, affirming that the recent U.S. strikes had “obliterated their nuclear capacity” and warning that “there’s no education in the second kick of a mule… You’ve been kicked once. You really don’t want to go through it again, but if it has to be, it will be.”
Perhaps most striking was his spontaneous defense of why he stands up for Israel so consistently, even when critics suggest he goes further than expected for an American ambassador: “Israel is not just a friend or an ally. We have a lot of friends, a lot of allies in the world, but America only has one real partner. That’s Israel… If I stand up for Israel, it’s because it’s simple. It’s part of my job. I’m standing up for the partner that America has chosen.”
The Ambassador, a former governor of Arkansas and longtime voice among America’s Evangelical community, also emphasized the Biblical and democratic values underpinning the U.S.–Israel relationship: “I can’t be a Christian without owing everything in my faith to the foundation upon which it rests and that’s Judaism… We really share the same spiritual and heritage of values.”
The full webinar is available on the American Jewish Congress YouTube channel. A transcript with Huckabee’s exact quotes, organized by issue, is published on the AJCongress website, www.ajcongress.org, at this link: https://ajcongress.org/events/ambassador-huckabee-to-american-jewish-congress-on-america-and-israel-if-you-insult-my-partner-you-insult-me/
