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In his first public act as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee placed a handwritten note from President Donald Trump into the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday morning, calling it a message of “goodwill” and prayer, CNN reported.
The note, written on a small slip of paper, read: “For peace in Israel—DT.” Huckabee reportedly said Trump gave it to him last Thursday with instructions to place it in the Wall, one of the most sacred sites for Jewish worshippers.
“I cannot think of a better time to come and to bring this message of goodwill,” Huckabee said, according to CNN. “And I also come with a prayer that all of the hostages will come home now and that we will bring them home and that is the prayer of the president as well.”
According to the report, Huckabee – wearing a Jewish prayer yarmulke and a yellow ribbon pin in support of hostages held in Gaza – stood solemnly before the Wall, offering a brief personal prayer before inserting Trump’s note into a crevice.
The former Arkansas governor and long-time ally of Trump was confirmed as ambassador last week, stepping into the role amid escalating tensions in the region.
Huckabee, however, made no mention of Gaza or the Palestinians, the report said.
During his first term, Trump officially recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv, a move that was hailed in Israel but condemned by Palestinians and some world powers.
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