Huckabee arrived in Israel on Tuesday and held a campaign fundraiser in “ancient” Shilo – a spot in the West Bank where tradition holds the ancient Israelites kept the tabernacle with Moses’ tablets on its way to Jerusalem. In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2012, the Israeli premier has agreed to give each presidential candidate visiting the Jewish State the same amount of time, and that no statements would be released to the press.
Advertisement
Rejecting the use of the words “West Bank”, Huckabee said it should be called “Judea and Samaria”, adding: “I don’t see it as occupied, that makes it appear as if someone is illegally taking land”.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. That would rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state – the cornerstone of years of U.S.-led peace efforts.
He would not say what should be done with millions of Palestinians living under Israeli rule, saying only this should be the subject of future negotiations between the sides. The Falic family, which owns the Florida-based Duty Free Americas Inc. chain of airport shops, was the largest contributor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s last re-election bid as Likud party head and invests in a winery next to the settlement of Psagot. They have said that they have developed missiles that will deliver Israel to the Holocaust. “I think that they were exactly on target”. A discussion on the Iran nuclear deal likely topped the agenda.
Israel and American Jewish groups have distanced themselves from Huckabee’s analogy, calling it “inappropriate”.
Advertisement
“Whatever one’s views of the nuclear agreement with Iran – and we have been critical of it, noting that there are serious unanswered questions that need to be addressed – comments such as those by Mike Huckabee suggesting the president is leading Israel to another Holocaust are completely out of line and unacceptable”, ADL’s National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
