Huckabee bemoaned that the “Christian Zionist” label is “used in a pejorative manner to disparage free-church believers.”
By Catholics for Catholics
On January 17, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem released a statement officially denouncing Christian Zionism as a “damaging” ideology that sows confusion and harms the community of Christians as a unified flock. The recent undertakings by various Christian Zionist actors “may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East,” the letter reads.
Mike Huckabee, the current US Ambassador to Israel, took to X for a lengthy rebuttal which has drawn sharp criticism from a number of Catholic commentators:
Personally I’m part of a global and growing evangelical tradition that believes in the authority of Scripture and the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenants. That includes His covenant with Abraham and the Jewish people. My Christian faith is built on the foundation of Judaism and without it, Christianity would not exist. Without the Judeo-Christian worldview, there would be no Western Civilization, and without Western Civilization, there would be no America. The thought that God is even capable of breaking a covenant is anathema to those of us who embrace Holy Scripture as the authority of the church. If God can or would break His covenant with the Jews, then what hope would Christians have that He would keep His covenant with us?
In response to the statement of non-evangelical churches in Israel, I issued the following. I hope you will read prayerfully.
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) January 20, 2026
I love my brothers and sisters in Christ from traditional, liturgical churches and respect their views, but I do not feel any sect of the Christian… pic.twitter.com/jqohEWk0xJ
“Christians are followers of Christ and a Zionist simply accepts that the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient, indigenous, and Biblical homeland,” Huckabee wrote. “It’s hard for me to understand why every one who takes on the moniker “Christian” would not also be a Zionist.
The right-wing political media group Newsmax ran a story on Huckabee’s response but in the title, claimed that the Patriarchs’ original statement was regarding Israel’s “right to exist,” which is misleading.
Joshua Charles, a Catholic convert and former speech writer for the White House, directly responded to Huckabee in a pithy statement: “Christ didn’t establish sects. He established a Church, with authority to bind and loose on earth with heaven’s authority, i.e. speak for all Christians worldwide.”
The popular Catholic beer company Tridentine Brewing also chimed in, retorting, “No thank you. We’ll be following the lead of the Church founded by Christ.”
Shane Schaetzel, Catholic author and voice behind RealClearCatholic.com, pointed out that Huckabee’s opinion represents a very small portion of Christians living in the Holy Land:
Ambassador Huckabee, please consider this. Who were the first Christians in the Holy Land, and which Christians have occupied the Holy Land since the first century? Was it Evangelical, Nondenominational Protestants? I don’t think so. That’s not to say that those Christians don’t have a right to exist in the Holy Land. People should live where they want, but it’s silly to suggest that a new form of Christianity, less than 500 years old, somehow represents Christianity in the Holy Land just as much as those who have been there for two millennia. I think that’s where these bishops are coming from, and I tend to agree.
Ambassador Huckabee, please consider this. Who were the first Christians in the Holy Land, and which Christians have occupied the Holy Land since the first century? Was it Evangelical, Nondenominational Protestants? I don't think so. That's not to say that those Christians don't…
— Shane Schaetzel †☧ (@ShaneSchaetzel) January 21, 2026
Schaetzel noted that Protestant denominations make up only five to ten percent of the Christian population in the Holy Land, while the rest are either Catholic or Orthodox.
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