Evangelical Zionist Huckabee attacks Jewish Ed Miliband, accuses UK government of ‘Jew hate’

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and one of Washington’s most outspoken supporters of Zionism and Israel’s settlement project, has accused the British government of “Jew hate” in an extraordinary attack prompted by comments from Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is himself Jewish.

Huckabee launched the attack after Miliband published a video describing a meeting with people who had been in Gaza and were working on the ground there. The foreign secretary said what he had heard about the humanitarian and medical situation was “horrific”, including accounts of medicines being blocked from entering the enclave and children dying while waiting for life-saving treatment.  

Miliband said the accounts reinforced the need for Britain to take stronger action. He said the government had to “act more decisively” than it had until now.  

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband:

I just came out of this meeting talking about Gaza to people who’ve been there and are there on the ground.

And frankly, it was horrific what is unfolding. You know, the stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked, children… pic.twitter.com/UCq8ChMHD0

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 5, 2026

Responding to the video, Huckabee wrote on X: “The Brits have lost it. The Jew hate of their government knows no boundaries and knows no facts.” 

The Brits have lost it. The Jew hate of their government knows no boundaries and knows no facts. https://t.co/W6iZ1ZrHrR

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 5, 2026

Israel’s foreign ministry had earlier attacked Miliband’s account, insisting there were “no restrictions whatsoever” on medicines entering Gaza and citing the quantity of medical supplies admitted since the October 2025 ceasefire. 

The British Foreign Secretary @Ed_Miliband posts a video recounting “stories” he was told about Gaza.

If the Foreign Secretary were interested in facts rather than stories, he would know that there are no restrictions whatsoever on the entry of medicines into the Gaza Strip, and… https://t.co/JuPUpyhPLM

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 5, 2026

However, recent assessments by international humanitarian agencies contradicted the Israeli claim. On 2 September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said critical laboratory and diagnostic supplies “remain restricted” and that it had not been permitted to bring prosthetic and rehabilitation equipment into Gaza for more than two years. 

“WHO has not been allowed to send prosthetic and rehabilitation equipment into Gaza for more than two years.”

OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has similarly reported restrictions and delays affecting the entry of health commodities, alongside critical shortages of medicines and medical supplies.  

READ: UK vows further measures amid ‘unacceptable’ expansion of illegal West Bank settlements

The diplomatic confrontation comes as the new government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepares what Miliband has called a “comprehensive” response to Israel’s accelerating settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. 

Measures under consideration reportedly include a ban on trade in goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements, alongside targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in settlement expansion.  

Miliband has said Britain does not want UK companies “financing, constructing, or advertising” new Israeli settlements. The proposed measures follow Israel’s decision to advance the E1 settlement project occupied East of Jerusalem. London says E1 would cut through the occupied West Bank, separate it further from East Jerusalem and jeopardise the territorial viability of a Palestinian state.  

The government has already said it intends to target sanctions at those involved in illegal settlement expansion. Earlier measures introduced by Britain and international partners targeted networks accused of financing and enabling settler violence, while British businesses were advised against economic and financial activity in illegal settlements.  

The proposed settlement trade ban, which legal analysts say is the least Britain must do to meet its obligations under the 2024 International Court of Justice ruling, has sparked harsh criticism from Britains pro-Israeli lobby. 

Stauch advocates of Israel within UK Jewish communities have urged Burnham to reconsider the measure, arguing that it could have unintended consequences for British Jews. Other Jewish voices, including Yachad, have supported sanctions relating to Israel’s occupation and settlements.  

Huckabee’s accusation of anti-Semitism comes against the background of his own longstanding commitment to Christian Zionism and Israeli territorial claims. He is the first evangelical Christian to serve as US ambassador to Israel and has repeatedly referred to the occupied West Bank by the biblical term “Judea and Samaria”. He has previously rejected the description of the territory as occupied and has preferred to call Israeli settlements “communities”.  

Huckabee has also questioned whether a Palestinian state should be established in the occupied West Bank at all, suggesting in 2025 that land could instead be found in a Muslim-majority country. In February this year, his use of biblical claims to discuss an Israeli right to territory stretching from the Euphrates to the Nile provoked condemnation from a group of Arab and Muslim-majority states, although Washington stressed that his remarks did not represent a change in official US policy.  

The Foreign Office did not respond directly to Huckabee’s accusation, but pointed to nearly £318 million ($430 million)in government spending over three years to protect Jewish communities and combat what it called anti-Semitism.

READ: US Amb. Huckabee doubles down on ‘terror’ label for Israeli occupier violence