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“You represent God’s presence and His choice in this land,” the U.S. envoy told Israeli pioneers in Samaria.
By JNS
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee paid an official visit to the Ancient Shiloh site in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria on Wednesday, a historic first for a current U.S. diplomatic envoy.
Huckabee traveled to the biblical site, which was the spiritual capital of the Jewish people for 369 years following Joshua’s conquest of the Land of Israel, at the invitation of the Yesha Council, the umbrella group of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
During the visit to Shiloh, Huckabee and his wife, Janet, recited Hannah’s Prayer from the biblical Book of Samuel at the site of the tabernacle, praying for the safety of the hostages and IDF soldiers in Gaza.
BREAKING : US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee @USAmbIsrael conducted a first-of-its-kind, an historical tour to the ancient Shiloh site this morning in Binyamin region, which is part of Judea and Samaria.
The ambassador then held an official meeting with the heads and the… pic.twitter.com/IXeufSmdGx— Ariel Kahana אריאל כהנא (@arik3000) May 7, 2025
Huckabee reportedly also viewed biblically pure red heifers that are being kept at the site, which are being raised to be used as part of a purification ritual after the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.
“I have never used any term other than Judea and Samaria,” the envoy said in remarks shared by the Yesha Council. He added, “It would be a historical injustice and a denial of the Bible to use other terms.
“You have sacrificed greatly to live in these places. You have paid in blood, sweat and tears. This place is a miracle. Only the existence of God can explain your presence here. I believe in the Bible, and I have no faith without you. I owe you a spiritual debt,” he told Israeli pioneers from Judea and Samaria.
The Jews are “living according to God’s rules, and that’s why so many people in the world want to kill Jews—because they want to kill God. You represent God’s presence and His choice in this land,” he said.
“We stand with you, and so do many around the world. Those who do not stand with you do not stand with God,” Huckabee said.
Israel Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council, who also leads the Binyamin Regional Council that administers the site, told the U.S. envoy, “Welcome home.”
The Jews’ first spiritual capital before Jerusalem was the place that united the tribes of Israel, and today, we stand here, in the State of Israel, united and strong, together with you,” Ganz continued.
“As someone who has visited this special prayer site many times, your prayers and ours have been answered, and you have arrived at this important position,” the regional governor said. “Together, we will make Judea and Samaria stronger. Together, we will make history.”
Huckabee, 69, has been a staunch advocate for the Jewish state for decades in the Republican Party, in evangelical circles and beyond.
In one of his first speeches as U.S. Ambassador to Israel on May 6, Huckabee described his posting in Jerusalem as a divine assignment.
“It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, upon which everything I believe is held. And God decided to bring His light and His law into the world through the Jewish people. It wasn’t my decision, it was His. I respect what God chooses to do. I honor what God chooses to do,” he said in remarks at the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, during a meeting with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Huckabee received a mezuzah made by an artist from the Itamar in Samaria and crafted of stones from the site of Joshua’s Altar.
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