The International Committee For the Land of Israel and Ateret Cohanim held a gala dinner in honor of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee Monday, in gratitude for his tremendous support for and activism on behalf of the State of Israel.
Huckabee referred to his visit at the home of kidnapped teen Naftali Frenkel this week in Nof Ayalon, repeating that the abduction of the teens on their way home from school is a "criminal act" that the world must condemn.
In addition, he argued that the international pressure on Israel to resolve the "Israeli-Palestinian conflict" was not the independent decision of the international community, but rather the direct influence of factors wanting to see Israel's destruction.
He added that the idea of a "Two-State Solution" is illogical, as the Jewish people is a sovereign people over the Land of Israel, and would endanger the State of Israel's existence entirely.
Dr. Joe Frager, Chairman of the Committee and one of the founders of US Friends of Ateret Cohanim, noted the visit's timing.
"The visit to Israel was planned seven months ago, along with Dr. Paul Brody and Odelia Jacobs," he noted. "We did not think we would be landing at a time of crisis, when Hamas, the executive arm of Iran, would hold three yeshiva students hostage."
"Immediately after landing in Israel we visited the parents of Naftali Frenkel," he added. "The conversation lasted an hour and affected [Huckabee] and actually gave a different dimension to his visit here."
Huckabee has appeared on many US media outlets defending Israel, a role he has stepped up in recent days by defending Israel's crackdown on Hamas and wishing his best to the families of the abducted teens.
The former GOP presidential candidate promised that, if he runs in the 2016 election, he would campaign for Israel.
"If I will be President, or in any position close to the US Presidency, I will work at full strength and with all my heart for Israel," Huckabee said. "As it says in the Bible, 'those who curse you are cursed and those who bless you are blessed,' and as a believer I would love to be blessed from helping the state of Israel as much as I can."
Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs MK Ze'ev Elkin noted that the visit strengthens the US-Israel relationship.
"The familiar and common value that Israel and the US share is the Bible," he said. "But there is another interest that binds us to the American people: the struggle against radical Islam."
"Mike Huckabee is a true friend, who carries these messages of strengthening ties between the two countries. "