Mike Huckabee To Speak At East Jerusalem Hotel

Former Arkansas governor and US presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will speak at the controversial Shepherd's Hotel in east Jerusalem during his visit to Israel next week, according to the Jerusalem Post. However, he will not be broadcasting his show from the scene. The trip is apparently an attempt to shed light on the "horror" of Obama's Israel policy.

"This is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on Obama's policy in Jerusalem, which has just been a horror," said New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who will be traveling with Huckabee, as reported in the Jerusalem Post.

Hikind, who will be traveling with Huckabee on the tour, also said he is planning to bring thousands of Americans, to Israel soon in a show of solidarity with the Jewish state.

"But Huckabee's arrival is significant because, this is a guy who's a major figure in America, and in my opinion will be a presidential candidate again," Hikind said. "To have a guy like him, you know, from Arkansas, come at this particular time, and say the kinds of things he's going to say, it's going to send a very strong message to the Israeli people and to the American administration."

The Shepherd's Hotel has been a source of conflict between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has authorized the building of 20 apartments on the site of the hotel. The disputed site, in Sheikh Jarrah, was bought by American tycoon Irving Moskowitz in 1985. The Obama administration has asked Israel to halt all construction in east Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Post states that Huckabee will not be broadcasting his show live from the hotel, as was previously reported.

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Comments

[Freenation]

11:17 PM on 08/14/2009

huckabee go and settle there along with all of your 'american' friends....you will not be missed...

[Dbos]

10:57 AM on 08/14/2009

He is a Baptist minister. Ask him what he believes about the Jewish people?

[nkhogan]

10:32 AM on 08/14/2009

I have tried to post on this topic several times and all my comments are still in the moderator queue. Why? Why the backlog? Why publish this article if you really don't want us to comment on it?????

I disagree with Huckabee going. I think he's meddling in something that is none of his business and that his meddling will only make it more difficult for the Obama administration to hold Israel to its commitments to build no more settlements. Now is that so radical that you all can't be arsed to publish my comments.

[nkhogan]

05:51 AM on 08/14/2009

H. it's not your business. Stay out of it. You'll only make matters worse and you do not represent the United States opinion on this. His meddling will make a deal harder, not easier. Thanks to the meddling of Chr istian evan gelicals in Israel, the situation is far worse than it need to be.

[Taxi]

05:11 AM on 08/14/2009

It would be 'nice' for a change

If these so called christian 'priests' in the USA

Started actually speaking up about

The diabolical plight

Of PALESTINIAN christians -

You know, the real Semitic progeny of Jesus.

[duxguts]

01:05 AM on 08/14/2009

Time to pick up your pay Mike?

[basenji]

11:52 PM on 08/13/2009

Must be brown-nosing season, and they ain't all republicans:

"The majority leader also appeared to disagree with the adminstration's approach on the Middle East, downplaying the importance of settlements as an issue and saying they should be a subject of negotiations."

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/13/1007234/hoyer-palestinians-to-blame

[thesummerone]

10:25 PM on 08/13/2009

It wasn't that long ago when the Dixie Chicks were severely criticized and practically run out of town because Natalie Maines said that she was "ashamed the President came from Texas." It was a simple statement spoken by a singer to her fans at a concert for heaven's sake. The Dixie Chicks (DC's) were not political figures representing the U.S.

Huckabee is a different story. He's a former Governor and as such he is a representative of the U.S. Government. He isn't speaking to his fans, he's speaking to a foreign element. If he wasn't a politician, he wouldn't even be there. Anything he might say against President Obama could have serious political ramifications and he's been around long enough to know it.

If he acts so irresponsibly, I think the backlash for him should be tenfold that given to the DC's. He should be tried for treason for deliberately injuring or attempting to injure our President's reputation and, thereby, our country's image to the world.

In any case, I don't like Huckabee. He's too much of a Right-Wing religious nut case for me.

[Freenation]

10:08 PM on 08/13/2009

"Hikind, who will be traveling with Huckabee on the tour, also said he is planning to bring thousands of Americans, to Israel soon in a show of solidarity with the Jewish state. "

love the spin from these politicians...why doesn't he say thousands of dual-citizens and instead of Americans, with foreclosures, unemployment who has the time for all this f.arce....

I have one more suggestion, Huckabee and the 'thousands' of Americans can also permanently settle in West bank too...we don't need people with dual loyalties....

[Kiri sute gomen]

09:10 PM on 08/13/2009

The lyrics of a Sacred Riech song from 1990 really state how I feel bout this.

"This was once the land of dreams
now these dreams have turned to greed
in the midst of all this wealth
the poor are left to help themselves
a capitalist's democracy
no one said that freedom's free
lady liberty rots away
no truth, no justice
the American way"

The rest of the song is worth listening to.

http://www.lyrics007.com/Sacred%20Reich%20Lyrics/The%20American%20Way%20Lyrics.html

[Imperial61]

12:21 AM on 08/14/2009

So the hayseed Gomer Pyle wanna-be Huckabee play's pander to the Neoconservative/Fundementilist alliance that controls the GOP,and AIPAC that controls the House and Senate.If this 'man of God''had any real decency he would visit Gaza where the Isreali's have 1.7 million human beings blockaded from basic necessities(They even arrested a former US Congresswomen ;Cynthia McKinney trying to get aide in)plus witnesses the devestation wrought by Isreal's massive assualt last year.But there would be no good publicity for this desperate hayseed on FOX,or endorsments by fundementilist ministers in the Bible Belt if he displayed even a ounce of decency towartd's the suffering Palestinian's.

[Donatella]

09:02 PM on 08/13/2009

I don’t care what anyone says, I like him; especially when he got his own show: Gomer Pyle USMC.

[Kiri sute gomen]

08:51 PM on 08/13/2009

Hmm, demonizing a sitting President from foreign soil, why does that sound so familiar. It is almost as if someone did this not to long ago and the bible belt went up in arms just at the fact it happened. Maybe I am confused, I am sure a man of faith, a preacher, would not show behavior like that. I really thought that good honest Christians where opposed to hypocrisy. I really just don't understand the conflicts here.

[Colmore]

10:51 PM on 08/13/2009

I agree. Huckerbee quit being a preacher to become a politician. Guess the money is better. Personally, I doubt if he is much good at either job.

[Grada3784]

08:28 AM on 08/14/2009

C'mon now. You know that only applies to Republicans. Same deal as marital infidelity being allowed.

It's always ok if you're a Republican.

PS: when you find a good Christian, you've found someone who sees themselves as better than Jesus, since He never accepted the word good to be applied to Him. Amazing what's in the Gospels that no one seems to know, even with all this preaching of the Gospel.

[GRIMKAG]

07:43 PM on 08/13/2009

If this story is true, Mike Huckabee should be arrested upon his return to the USA.

[rich3324]

07:10 PM on 08/13/2009

Speaking against the president, in a time of war, while in another country. I guess the Dixie Chicks taught him nothing.

[bgofca]

04:05 PM on 08/13/2009

Isn't speaking in a foreign country against our sitting president treasonous?? That's the outrage that came from the republicans when anyone criticized bush when he was destroying our country and our constitution.