WILLIAM: PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP CONTINUES TO ASSEMBLE HIS CABINET, INCLUDING THOSE WHO'LL HELP SHAPE U.S. POLICY ABROAD.

THIS PAST WEEK, TRUMP NOMINATED FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE TO SERVE AS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL.

HUCKABEE HAS FOR YEARS HAD A STRONG PRO-ISRAEL STANCE, ONE THAT IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN HIS EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN FAITH.

NOW THIS FORMER BAPTIST MINISTER COULD BE INTEGRAL IN SHAPING U.S.

DIPLOMACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

YESTERDAY I SPOKE WITH DANIEL HUMMEL.

HE STUDIES RELIGION IN AMERICA, AND IS AN HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOW IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON.

I BEGAN BY ASKING HIM TO EXPLAIN THE DEEP CONNECTION BETWEEN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS AND THEIR SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL.

DANIEL: MIKE HUCKABEE IS AN EVANGELICAL THROUGH AND THROUGH.

HE GREW UP A SOUTHERN BAPTIST.

HE WAS A SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR.

AND IN TERMS OF HIS RELATIONSHIP TO ISRAEL, SINCE THE 1980'S HE HAS LED ABOUT 100 TOURS OF THE HOLY LAND.

AND SO HE HAS JUST A DEEP HISTORY OF THE LAND THAT ANYONE WHO'S PAYING ATTENTION TO HIS HIS CAREER WOULD KNOW.

AND THAT MEANS HE HAS A LOT OF CONNECTIONS IN ISRAEL AS WELL WITH THE LEADERSHIP THERE, THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, THE RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP.

HUCKABEE HAS ARTICULATED A PRETTY CONSISTENT VIEW OF ISRAEL FROM THE 1980'S ON THAT REALLY IS CONNECTED TO HIS FAITH.

AND SO HE WILL TALK ABOUT HOW THE LAND OF ISRAEL IS DEEDED TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE BASED ON HIS READING OF THE BIBLE.

RELIGIOUS INTEREST IN ISRAEL HAS TO DO WITH PROPHECY.

THIS IS OFTEN WHAT IS MOST TALKED ABOUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT EVANGELICALS IN ISRAEL.

AND IN THIS VIEW, ISRAEL'S FOUNDING IN 1948 WAS PROPHETICALLY SIGNIFICANT TO FULFILLED BIBLICAL PROPHECY.

SO HAVE ISRAEL'S VICTORIES IN WARS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.

AND THEN THERE'S AN ANTICIPATION THAT THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE MACHINATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PARTICULARLY AROUND ISRAEL.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING HUCKABEE DOESN'T SPEAK AS MUCH ABOUT THAT PART OF IT, BUT THAT'S ALSO WORKING IN THE BACKGROUND AS WELL.

WILLIAM: AND HOW WIDESPREAD ARE THOSE?

THOSE ARE NOT JUST MIKE HUCKABEE'S BELIEFS.

THOSE REPRESENT THE BELIEFS OF QUITE A FEW MILLION EVANGELICALS IN THE U.S.. DANIEL: YES, THAT'S RIGHT.

AND WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, GREAT DATA ON EXACTLY WHICH ONE OF THOSE BELIEFS EVANGELICALS PLACE THE MOST IMPORTANCE IN.

BUT WE KNOW FROM POLLING THAT A MAJORITY OF EVANGELICALS BELIEVE THAT THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL IS PROPHETICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

A MAJORITY OF EVANGELICALS BELIEVE THAT THE LAND, AS OUTLINED IN THE BIBLICAL TEXT, BELONGS TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

EVANGELICALS WILL SAY YES TO THAT ON THE POLL.

SO HUCKABEE REPRESENTS SOME MAJORITY OF RANK AND FILE EVANGELICALS.

SO WE'RE TALKING IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS.

THE LARGEST ORGANIZED ORGANIZATION ON THIS IS CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL.

THEY ARE A LOBBY GROUP IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

THEY CLAIM TO HAVE OVER 10 MILLION MEMBERS.

MOST OF THOSE BEING EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS.

SO IT'S CERTAINLY A LARGE, LARGE CONTINGENT OF EVANGELICALS.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO MILLIONS OF EVANGELICALS WHO WOULD REJECT A LOT OF THE THEOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS.

THEY MIGHT SUPPORT ISRAEL FOR OTHER REASONS, INCLUDING REASONS HAVING TO DO WITH JUST SORT OF AMERICAN INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST OR SHARED VALUES OR OTHER THINGS.

BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY A SENSE THAT HUCKABEE IS REPRESENTING IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IF HE GETS THIS POSITION, A BIG CHUNK OF RANK AND FILE EVANGELICAL VOTERS.

WILLIAM: SO HUCKABEE'S NOMINATION COULD BE SEEN FROM TRUMP'S PERSPECTIVE AS BOTH GRATIFYING TO ISRAELIS CURRENT LEADERS, THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT THERE, AS WELL AS TO TRUMP'S EVANGELICAL BASE HERE.

IT'S DOING A TWOFER THERE.

DANIEL: THAT'S RIGHT.

AND, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, HUCKABEE HAS A LOT OF CONNECTIONS BASED JUST ON HIS EXTENSIVE WORK IN ISRAEL WITH THE CURRENT ISRAELI LEADERSHIP, PARTICULARLY THE MORE RIGHT WING LEADERSHIP.

SO NETANYAHU, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTS PART OF THE RIGHT.

BUT THERE'S ALSO PEOPLE FURTHER TO THE RIGHT IN ISRAEL THAT KNOW HUCKABEE QUITE WELL.

AND HUCKABEE HAS FOR A LONG TIME NOW EXPRESSED HIS VIEWS THAT HE DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT THE WEST BANK SHOULD BE ANYTHING BUT ISRAELI TERRITORY.

HE EVEN REFUSES TO EVEN USE THE WORD WEST BANK.

HE CALLS IT THE JUDEA AND SAMARIA, WHICH ARE ITS BIBLICAL DESIGNATIONS.

HUCKABEE HAS ALSO BEEN VERY SKEPTICAL OF THE IDEA OF A PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.

HE THINKS THAT'S A SORT OF MADE UP CATEGORY IN THE 20TH CENTURY.

THIS IS QUITE A CONTROVERSIAL OPINION, BUT AMONG MANY OF THE ISRAELI LEADERS WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN POWER IN THE GOVERNMENT, THIS IS A PRETTY COMMON VIEW.

AND SO HUCKABEE ALIGNS REALLY WELL WITH THE CURRENT ISRAELI LEADERSHIP AND ANY FUTURE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT THAT IS COMING OUT OF THE RIGHT WING OF THEIR POLITICS.

WILLIAM: I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN TRUMP'S EAR WHO CARE ABOUT ISRAEL, NOT JUST EVANGELICALS, BUT DOES THIS WORLDVIEW, AS YOU ARE DESCRIBING IT, OF HUCKABEE'S, GIVE A SENSE OF HOW HE AND TRUMP MIGHT ENACT POLICY VIS-À-VIS ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS?

DANIEL: THERE IS OBVIOUSLY, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A TILT TOWARD ISRAEL IN THE RELATIONSHIP AND THINKING ABOUT THE BROADER ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT, THE ISSUE OF PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD.

THERE'S GOING TO BE A TILT TOWARD THE ISRAELI PERSPECTIVE ON THESE THINGS FROM HUCKABEE, FOR SURE.

AND BASED ON TRUMP'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION, ALSO FROM TRUMP.

THERE'S ALSO SOME TENSION, THOUGH.

TRUMP IS A DEALMAKER, AND THERE'S A BIG DEAL WAITING OUT THERE WITH RELATION TO A PEACE DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA THAT WAS SEEMINGLY GOING TO HAPPEN BEFORE OCTOBER 7 OF LAST YEAR.

IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, FROM MY READING AT LEAST, THAT THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR VICTORY FOR TRUMP, IF HE COULD GET SOME TYPE OF BROADER PEACE DEAL BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA AND ISRAEL.

BUT TO DO THAT PEACE DEAL, THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE SOME TYPE OF MEETING IN THE MIDDLE WITH SOME OF THE MORE EXTREME VIEWS OF THE ISRAELI RIGHT.

AND THAT'S WHERE IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW HUCKABEE SORT OF NAVIGATES HIS OWN PERSONAL VIEWS VERSUS THE BROADER INTERESTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND WHETHER OR NOT, BECAUSE HE HAS THESE SORT OF CORE CONSERVATIVE VIEWS, IF THOSE CAN ACTUALLY CREATE SOME TYPE OF SENSE OF TRUST WITH THE ISRAELI SIDE.

MAYBE THAT'S AN OPTIMISTIC TAKE WHERE THERE WOULD BE A BROADER SENSE OF TRUST AND THEN THE ABILITY TO CREATE SOME TYPE OF DEAL, IF A DEAL ACTUALLY WERE TO IMPROVE THE REGION.

BUT THERE WILL BE ATTENTION.

TRUMP IS NOT AS IDEOLOGICAL AS HUCKABEE ON SOME OF THESE VIEWS, AND YET HUCKABEE WILL BE IN MOST OF THE ROOMS WHERE THESE HIGH LEVEL POLICY AND DIPLOMATIC CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING.

WILLIAM: DANIEL HUMMEL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INSIGHTS.

DANIEL: IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU.