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In the Israel-Iran War, Huckabee Wants Trump to Follow Scripture Over Strategy
- Etan Nechin, Haaretz
- Jun 18
- 3 min read
The Bible-thumping, messianic rhetoric of Israeli and American politicians reveals a dangerous irony: they don't oppose theocracy, only the Islamic kind, cloaking their own fanaticism in terms like 'Judeo-Christian values' and 'the West'
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee texted President Trump this week and told him he was spared by God when the bullet at that Pennsylvania rally narrowly missed his head. He was spared to "be the most consequential president in a century – maybe ever."
Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and evangelical pastor, wasn't subtle in his religious push as Trump weighs whether the United States should join Israel in striking Iran: "I don't reach out to persuade you. Only to encourage you. I believe you will hear from heaven."
As Israel intensifies its assault, talk has shifted from diplomacy to regime change in Iran, targeting a fundamentalist power that has weaponized religion to oppress women, human rights, and which for decades has threatened religious war.
But the messianic language claiming to defend democracy heard from both Israeli and American politicians reveals a dangerous irony: They're not opposing theocracy, they just oppose the Islamic kind. They just cloak their own religious fanaticism in terms like "Judeo-Christian values" and "the West."
A staunch Christian Zionist, Huckabee believes deeply in Dispensationalist theology, which holds that modern Israel fulfills biblical prophecy and must be supported until the end of days. He's also not shy about it. In April, standing atop the ancient walls of Jerusalem, the ambassador declared: "We have the opportunity to be representatives not only of our government, but also representatives of Jesus Christ."
Huckabee's text to Trump reads less like strategic counsel and more like the culmination of decades of evangelical doomsday politics toward Israel and the messianic turn of Israeli politics itself.
Support amongst Jewish religious Zionists for this fusion of statecraft and salvation fits neatly with a very specific kind of Jewish identity that has taken shape in Israel over the past six decades: a nationalist religion centered on land and military salvation, where democratic structures are secondary to its Jewish character.
For Israel's messianic settler movement, Israel is not a nation state at all; it's a vessel for redemption. In their view, the sooner the Al-Aqsa is destroyed and the third temple is built, the sooner the Messiah will come.
This kind of rhetoric in Israel has only intensified since the current war with Iran began, as it did after October 7. On its first day, Israeli politicians tweeted out Hebrew prayers. A day later, it was revealed that just before the strike on Iran, Netanyahu went to the Western Wall and inserted a note bearing the operation's name – Am Kelavi, "A Nation of Lions" – a phrase lifted from scripture.
In Israel, toppling the Islamic Republic isn't just framed as a national interest – it's cast as a Jewish one.
This is the same for evangelical Christians: Israel isn't another nation-state. It's a spiritual symbol. It has become the center of an American crusade. Therefore, the war between Iran and Israel isn't just a geopolitical conflict. It's a theological battlefield.
And what's plain in the ambassador's text is this: the U.S. never was an honest broker, and was never meant to be. It is, increasingly, the political wing of a Christian apocalyptic vision with Israel at its center.
This war is a holy battleground, and the people of Israel and Iran are a small price to pay for the kingdom of heaven on earth.
(c) 2025, Haaretz
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