Full Breakdown
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee Links Falling American Support for Israel to Biblical Illiteracy
By Drooid · · How we work
Huckabee’s Explanation for the Shift in Opinion
U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told NewsNation that the recent decline in favorable U.S. views of Israel stems from “biblical illiteracy.”
Poll Data Illustrating Changing Attitudes
A Pew Research poll conducted in April found that 60 percent of U.S. adults held an unfavorable view of Israel, while support among white evangelicals remained relatively high at 65 percent. An AP-NORC poll from July reported that more Americans who were surveyed believed Israel had committed genocide in Gaza than those who did not, although roughly half said they lacked sufficient information to answer.
Political Context and Reactions
The decline in support has coincided with the election of critics of Israel, including Zohran Mamdani, who became mayor of New York City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced Mamdani’s mayoral victory in a United Nations General Assembly speech, claiming that Jews in New York told him they no longer feel safe in the city. Netanyahu’s own popularity in the United States has fallen, with the same Pew survey indicating that more than half of Americans do not trust him to act correctly on world affairs. Mamdani has publicly opposed anti-Semitism and, at one point, pledged to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant for Netanyahu, later concluding that New York City lacks the legal authority to do so.
Official Responses and Outlook
Huckabee’s assessment frames the issue as a cultural and informational gap rather than a policy dispute. Critics of his view might point to the poll figures and political developments as evidence of broader geopolitical concerns influencing public opinion. The ambassador’s remarks suggest that improving biblical literacy could be a strategy for the United States to bolster support for Israel, though no concrete policy actions have been outlined.