The Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel.

Israel supporter John Fetterman was the only Democrat to join Republicans in voting for Huckabee, with the final vote tally 53 to 46.

Huckabee, a religious Christian and a staunch supporter of Israel, insists on calling the “West Bank” by its popular biblical name of Yehudah and Shomron. A frequent visitor to Israel, he even expressed interest in the past in buying a vacation home in the Shomron.

US President Donald Trump responded to the appointment by saying that Huckabee is “going to be fantastic, he’s going to bring home the bacon.” He then realized that maybe he should have chosen a different expression and said jokingly: “Although bacon isn’t too big in Israel.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu congratulated Huckabee on the confirmation, stating: “Congratulations to my dear friend Mike Huckabee upon being confirmed as the next ambassador of the United States to Israel. This is a great day for the Israeli-American alliance. I look forward to working with you to make the unbreakable bond between our two nations even stronger.”

The head of the Yesha (Yehudah and Shomron) Council, Yisrael Ganz, sent a letter of congratulations to Huckabee, stating: “Your appointment represents, in our view, an important moral statement by the U.S. administration and the American people. We regard you as a representative of the United States and President Trump, as well as a true partner of the people of Israel and their undeniable historical right to live in the Land of the Bible—Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.”

“We deeply appreciate your longstanding commitment to the Jewish people, its Torah, and its land, as well as your resolute stance in support of our right to security and development of communities throughout all parts of our ancestral homeland, in accordance with the vision of the prophets.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)