Huckabee: Evangelicals more supportive of Israel than Jews

Mike Huckabee, a longtime Christian Zionist wrapping up a trip to Israel, tells CBN that he was struck by firmer support for Israel — as he sees it — from American Christians than from American Jews.

"One of the things I find most interesting is that generally Evangelicals are so much more supportive of Israel than the American Jewish community," Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, said.

His words help explain the large role debates over Israel and Jewish politics played in the general election campaign, as Israel is a focus for a large piece of the electorate and, at times, a proxy for broader security questions.

"There's great division within the American Jewish Community about the level of support for Israel," he went on. "I think they all support Israel, want to see it succeed. But you'll find people all over the board about whether they think ii ought to have ... absolute control over its border and whether they should give up land for peace and just how many countries can oversee Jerusalem at one time."

"I don't find that kind of dichotomy generally within the Evangelical community," Huckabee said. "It's pretty adamant: There ought to be one city. It ought to be a Jewish state. And it ought to be secure. So maybe one of the hard things is to convince some of our Jewish friends that Evangelicals are the best friends they've got — because I think generally, that's the case."