During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) questioned President Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Israel, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) about US-Israel cooperation and political support.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:02I want to thank the Chair and Ranking Member for holding this important hearing today,
00:06and I want to thank the nominees and their families for their willingness to serve.
00:12Governor Huckabee, I know from our conversation earlier, like me, you care deeply about the
00:18bonds between the United States and Israel.
00:21I have no doubt that if confirmed, you will work tirelessly to strengthen the U.S.-Israel
00:26relationship, meet Israel's defense needs, and free all of the remaining hostages held
00:32by Hamas.
00:34What I do have concerns about, however, is how you will work to maintain a bipartisan
00:39U.S. support for Israel, and whether you will encourage steps that could one day lead to
00:45a durable, lasting peace in the region that finally provides Israel with long-term security.
00:53Mr. Governor Huckabee, to have any chance of achieving what I just laid out, Israel
00:56cannot turn in to a partisan football here on Capitol Hill.
01:00We've already had this discussion.
01:02Do you agree with that, and if so, will you commit to maintaining an ongoing, equal communication
01:08with both Republican and Democratic offices, if confirmed?
01:13Senator, thank you, and it's a very important and valid question to which I can say emphatically
01:19that I affirm a commitment that if I am confirmed, I would have a responsibility.
01:25It's not just that I would do it because it would be a nice thing to do.
01:30It's a responsibility of an ambassador to serve the entire country, certainly to serve
01:34the president who appoints me, the policies of this president, and the secretary.
01:40But it's also a duty to communicate, and it's a conversation that I also had with ranking
01:47member Shaheen yesterday and committed to her, that there would be no difference in
01:52the manner in which I would receive a call from someone who's a Democrat or Republican.
01:57Quite frankly, if I could add one thing.
01:58Yes, and then I have another question.
01:59Just real quickly, that I can remember the day when the Democrats were the most reliable
02:04supporters of Israel in this city.
02:07And they still are, sir.
02:08Well, I hope they always will be.
02:09So I'm going to move to my next question.
02:12Based on your previous statements, I do think it's fair to say you're opposed to a two-state
02:17solution.
02:18So while we both agree that two states living side-by-side in peace, it's not possible today,
02:23particularly with Hamas still in power in Gaza.
02:27But I firmly believe this should remain the ultimate goal and inform the U.S. approach
02:32to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially after the war in Gaza ends.
02:39It's in both Israel's best security interest to reach such an agreement and the only way
02:43to maintain Israel as a Jewish democratic state for the long term.
02:49We're in it for the long run.
02:52And so given this, do you believe that the U.S. should continue advocating for a future
02:56two-state solution?
02:57And if not, what is your alternative?
03:00Senator, it's a good question.
03:02And quite frankly, I think the question is not, is there a need for people who are Palestinian
03:10to be able to live and have a future?
03:13The question is where and when.
03:16Where will that be?
03:17Will it be on top of the Israeli-Jewish state?
03:23Or will it be somewhere that is decided upon that would be completely different only for
03:28those who wish to locate there?
03:31And here's my point, Senator, Israel is a tiny little strip of land.
03:35You know that.
03:36We all do.
03:37It's the size of New Jersey.
03:40But Muslim countries control 644 times the amount of land that Israel has.
03:47They've been surrounded by those who have sought to destroy it, annihilate it.
03:51Those who chant from the river to the sea are not bringing about peace.
03:56The Palestinians were given the opportunity in the year 2000 when Ahud Barak from Israel
04:01put everything on the table, virtually said, 100 percent, here it is, you get it all, and
04:06the Palestinian Liberation Organization walked away from it.
04:10The other thing that has to happen is a cultural shift.
04:13There can be no peace and two-state solution if there continues to be education from the
04:20time a child is five and six years old, living under the Palestinian authority that says
04:26it's okay, in fact, it's desirable to murder Jews and to reward them for it.
04:31I want to build on what we talked about.
04:34You spoke earlier about the Abraham Accords, how important that is, because a cultural
04:38shift, Abraham Accords, and other kinds of diplomacy can help lead to that cultural shift.
04:44And you and I both agree that Iran presents a major threat to Israel's existence, and
04:49the growth of the Abraham Accords is one of the best ways to counter Iranian aggression
04:54and start that cultural shift, if you will.
04:57So given that a two-state solution, central to the Saudis and other Arab partners, and
05:03in this broader conversation, I'm running out of time, so maybe you'll let him answer,
05:08Chairwoman.
05:10How do you propose we expand the Abraham Accords, absent the support for a two-state solution?
05:16Through the long process of seeing the culture change.
05:19There has to be an admission that Israel has a right to exist.
05:23There has to be some recognition that there will be a change in the policy of educating
05:28children to hate Jews.
05:31That does not lead toward a peaceful coexistence anywhere at any time.
05:37And we're seeing the results of that anti-Semitism here in our homeland, which is very distressing
05:43to me, I'm sure to you too, Senator, to see people who were raised up with an irrational
05:48hatred toward Jewish people.
05:51And that cannot lead to any level of peaceful coexistence, whether it's here, there, or
05:58anywhere else on the planet.