Israel welcomed newly-confirmed U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee on Friday with a ceremony at the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, in the midst of religious services for the Passover holiday.
Friday also marked Good Friday, and the start of the weekend in which Easter is observed. This year, in a rare concurrence, Easter is observed on the same date by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians.
Huckabee is the first evangelical Christian to hold the position of U.S. Ambassador to Israel. He has been traveling to Israel since the 1970s and is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state.
In remarks at the Western Wall, Huckabee noted that his first act as ambassador would be to bring a handwritten prayer for peace from President Donald Trump, and to place it in the cracks of the wall, in accordance with tradition.
“It is a special honor to be able to do this on this final weekend of Passover,” Huckabee added. “I canot think of a better time to come and to bring this message of goodwill.”
A statement by Israel’s Government Press Office elaborated:
Ambassador Huckabee was received by the Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mr. Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, who warmly welcomed him, offered him blessings for success in his new role, and expressed gratitude for the United States’ support for Israel’s security and the strong ties between the leaders and the nations.
During his visit, the ambassador prayed together with Rabbi Rabinowitz, reciting Psalm 121, and then offered a personal prayer for the success of his mission and tenure, and for the continuation of unity and peace between the nations.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mr. Mike Huckabee:
“It is an honor for me to be here on behalf of President Donald Trump and to bring the prayer he personally wrote last Thursday at the White House, with the instruction that my first act as ambassador be to take his prayer—in which he expresses his hope for peace in Israel—and place it in the Western Wall and pray for peace in the land.”
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites:
“Words cannot describe the emotion felt by the citizens of Israel and throughout the Jewish world upon hearing the announcement that you would come directly upon landing to the Western Wall, to pray and place a note on behalf of the President of the United States—one of Israel’s greatest friends. Especially in these difficult days of war, pain, and uncertainty—your acts of friendship, faith, and support give the people of Israel strength and hope.”
Huckabee added a prayer that all of the remaining Israeli hostages be brought home now from captivity in Gaza.
In 2017, Trump became the first president to visit the Western Wall while in office, thus affirming that the U.S. considered the holy site part of Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
