‘Which is a made-up term’: Trump’s Israel Ambassador lies about Palestinians not being real people

Some voters turned against Kamala Harris because of the ongoing genocide taking place in Gaza. While others thought Trump would be the better candidate, his cabinet picks are proving to be detrimental to the situation in Israel and Palestine.

For his second term, Trump announced former Governor Mike Huckabee as his ambassador to Israel. The former Arkansas governor is known for his aversion to a ceasefire deal and staunch opposition against pro-Palestinian protests. In a Trinity Broadcast Network interview, Huckabee and Dr. Jonathan Schanzer accused the student-led protests of being tied to Hamas. Schanzer claimed that the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) organization is linked to the terrorist group.

“But they’ve apparently been sold and brainwashed on the idea that Israel is an apartheid country, that it’s brutally attacking people who are Palestinian—which is a made-up term from 1962 and Arafat—how are they so effective in persuading these college kids?” Never mind that the American Muslims for Palestine had their anti-terrorism case dismissed by court in 2017 and 2020. To Huckabee, protestors are merely brainwashed. The glaring irony is that even his statement is Zionist propaganda.

Historical revisionism

Zionists often claim that Palestine did not exist until 1967, when several Arab countries were defeated by Israel during the Six-Day War. This was used as a justification to invalidate the existence of Palestine. In reality, the term ‘Philisthia’ from which Palestine was derived existed as early as the 12th century BCE. The territory covered parts of modern-day Tel Aviv-Yafo and Gaza.

For an Evangelical Christian like Huckabee, even his Bible would reference the existence of the Philistines in several of its books. Religious text aside, Palestine was recognized by the UN as a former Ottoman territory before the British Mandate and subsequent Partition Plan. Huckabee can deny the existence of Palestinians, but his words don’t change the facts.

Is a ceasefire deal still possible?

It’s clear that Huckabee doesn’t merely sympathize with Israel. He wants a ‘one-state solution’ for Israel and believes that the Jewish state historically owns occupied Palestinian territories. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Trump would appoint Huckabee, who supported him during his presidential campaign. Trump also supports Netanyahu’s war and urged him to “finish the job.”

Based on his former presidency, Trump has consistently leaned in favor of Israel. Bernie Sanders once argued that Trump and his allies would be worse for the welfare of Palestinians, which may be true given Trump’s ambassador pick. Moreover, the Trump-Vance tandem also plans to crackdown on student-led protests. While the students face uncertainty, promises of a ceasefire hang by a thread.