Israel has biblical right to the Middle East, Huckabee tells Carlson
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Mike Huckabee speaks before the Senate on March 25, 2025. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson that, under a biblical interpretation, Israel could claim a right to territory spanning much of the Middle East.
Why it matters: The interview between Carlson and Huckabee comes amid a contentious saga between the two over their differing views on Israel.
- After Carlson criticized the alleged treatment of Christians in Israel in a recent episode of his show, Huckabee invited Carlson to the country to speak with him directly.
Driving the news: In a "Tucker Carlson Show" interview released Friday, Carlson confronted Huckabee about his interpretation of biblical verse Genesis 15:18, which describes God promising Abram, later called Abraham, and his descendants land "from the Nile to the Euphrates."
- Supporting that verse, Carlson said, would suggest Israel could claim a right to land including "basically the entire Middle East," including countries like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, as well as parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
- "Not sure we'd go that far," Huckabee said in reply. "It would be a big piece of land."
Carlson then pressed him: "Does Israel have the right to that land?"
- "It would be fine if they took it all," Huckabee responded, before later adding that Israel is not actively seeking to take over the Middle East and has a right to live in the land it currently holds.
Zoom out: The Carlson interview comes as Huckabee has maintained a pro-Israel, evangelical position regarding the nation's control over the West Bank
- Huckabee has suggested before that Jews have a biblical right to Israel.
- Meanwhile, Carlson has become a notable critic of Israel and U.S.–Israel policy, questioning the strategic value of the nation to the United States.
Another contentious moment between Carlson and Huckabee came when the U.S. ambassador questioned Carlson's recent interview with Anthony Aguilar, who claimed the Israel Defense Forces killed a little boy.
- Huckabee disputed the claim and said the child was alive.
- "Too bad Tucker didn't question Tony Aguilar as aggressively as he questioned me," Huckabee wrote on X.
Carlson claimed that he was taken into custody by Israeli authorities, per multiple reports, following the interview with Huckabee. The Israel Airports Authority denied the claim.
- Huckabee wrote on X that "EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions."
Go deeper: "Desperate people do desperate things": Huckabee warns of West Bank collapse
