Tucker Carlson’s interview of US Ambassador to Israel – Mike Huckabee in Israel
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has been released, and several moments stand out, none of them particularly flattering to Huckabee. Below is a cleaner rewrite with added academic or expert context for each point.
- When Tucker asked Huckabee about the alleged genocide in Gaza, the former Arkansas governor said Hamas leadership and anyone affiliated with Hamas deserved to die. When pressed on whether that included teenagers, Huckabee indicated that it did.
International law scholars have long emphasized the principle of distinction under the Geneva Conventions, which requires parties in a conflict to distinguish between combatants and civilians. As legal scholar David Luban has written, “Collective punishment and the targeting of individuals based solely on affiliation rather than direct participation in hostilities violate the core structure of just war theory and humanitarian law.” Framing entire categories of people, including minors, as legitimate targets based on affiliation raises serious legal and ethical concerns under these standards.
- Tucker questioned Huckabee about Israel’s claim to Palestinian land. As in his prior interview with Ted Cruz, Huckabee invoked the Bible to justify Israel’s right to the land. When Tucker raised genealogy and ancestry, he argued that no modern population can directly trace continuous lineage to ancient Israel, including Benjamin Netanyahu, and suggested many Israelis have European origins.
To sidestep this argument, historians of the region consistently caution against simplistic ancestry claims. Israeli historian Shlomo Sand has argued that modern national identity cannot be reduced to ancient bloodlines, noting that “the idea of a biologically continuous Jewish people is a modern construction rather than a historical certainty.” At the same time, mainstream scholars such as Anita Shapira stress that Zionism historically grounded its claims in a mixture of historical memory, religion, and modern nationalism, not solely genetics. The broader academic consensus is that land claims in the modern era are political and legal questions, not strictly genealogical ones. Tucker was therefore spot on to argue for DNA. The broader academic consensus is that land claims in the modern era are political and legal questions, not strictly genealogical ones. Tucker was therefore justified in arguing that if the claim to the land is explicitly rooted in biblical descent from Abraham, then modern DNA testing becomes relevant to evaluating that claim. Anthropology and population genetics are established scientific disciplines used to trace lineage continuity and ancestral origins across millennia. If descent from Abraham is presented as the foundational basis for territorial entitlement, then measurable genetic continuity with ancient Levantine populations traditionally associated with the patriarchal narratives could be examined.
Advances in archaeogenetics have made it possible to compare modern populations with ancient DNA recovered from the Levant region. Numerous peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that present-day populations in the region. including Jewish and Palestinian communities, carry varying degrees of ancestry connected to ancient Near Eastern peoples. If ancestry is invoked as a decisive criterion, then DNA analysis provides an empirical framework to assess claims of continuity rather than leaving them solely in the realm of theology. Tucker’s suggestion that Palestinians should also be tested follows the same logic: if genealogical descent is the stated standard, then it must be applied consistently and examined scientifically rather than selectively.
When pressed further on this DNA issue, Huckabee said he did not understand the question. He also stated that regarding Israel taking Palestinian land, “It would be fine if they took it all.”
International relations scholar Ian Lustick has warned that permanent territorial expansion without equal rights for the population living there risks creating what he calls “a one-state reality defined by unequal citizenship,” a situation widely debated among legal scholars as incompatible with democratic governance and international law.
- Huckabee also drew criticism for meeting with Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of passing U.S. state secrets to Israel and served decades in prison. Before Pollard’s release, Huckabee had advocated for his freedom in 2011. In the interview, Huckabee downplayed the meeting, describing it as brief and insignificant, and said he did not regret it.
National security experts have consistently described the Pollard case as one of the most damaging espionage breaches in U.S.-Israel relations. Former CIA Director James Woolsey stated that Pollard’s actions caused “significant harm” to U.S. intelligence capabilities. Even among pro-Israel policymakers, the case has been viewed as a serious breach of trust between allies.
- When the conversation turned to Jeffrey Epstein, Huckabee claimed he had not been closely following recent developments. However, when Tucker mentioned Epstein’s alleged connections to Mossad and Israel, Huckabee pushed back, saying that was not what official files showed.Multiple investigative journalists and independent researchers argue that the full scope of Jeffrey Epstein’s international connections remains unresolved, particularly in light of the millions of emails and documents that have emerged through civil litigation and document releases.
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta previously stated that he was told Epstein “belonged to intelligence,” a remark that has fueled ongoing scrutiny and debate about possible intelligence ties. However, Epstein’s connection to Israel and the Rothschild’s is now undeniable. Additionally, investigative reporter Whitney Webb has written extensively about Epstein’s relationships with high-level political figures, foreign officials, and financial networks, arguing that these associations warrant further examination rather than dismissal.
While official government filings have not publicly confirmed that Epstein acted as an agent of any specific intelligence service, critics contend that earlier media conclusions were reached before the release of substantial documentary evidence and that ongoing disclosures continue to reshape public understanding. As with many high-level criminal investigations involving powerful individuals, new records have prompted renewed calls from legal scholars and analysts for transparency and full disclosure before definitive conclusions are drawn.
- On a personal note, I will be glad if this interview will remain and not be censored. I had trouble viewing on it on Facebook, it appeared as if it was being blocked, so I eventually watched in full on Twitter. It also raises broader questions about long-debated ideological visions such as the so-called “Greater Israel” concept, associated with an interpretation of biblical borders stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has displayed historical maps referencing ancient Israel in various contexts, most mainstream scholars of Israeli politics, including Daniel Levy, have tried to downplay this in this in the same way that Huckabee did in the interview. The narrative is that official Israeli state policy does not formally endorse a territorial project extending from the Nile to the Euphrates. On the hand you can understand how the region will respond to direct official assertions of such a project.
The enduring question is whether rhetoric, symbolism, and settlement expansion policies align with international legal norms, or whether they signal a deeper territorial ambition that remains the subject of ongoing scholarly and political debate.
In my view, the interview highlights what I see as the concorted basis for unbridled justification for colonialism and extremism within certain strands of Zionist ideology.
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