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This story was originally published on the Forward.
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US President-elect Donald Trump began shaping his cabinet in the two weeks following his election win on November 6, rolling out nominations that feature people deeply connected to the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, including Mike Huckabee, Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio.

Here’s a guide to key players and candidates in Trump’s incoming cabinet and advisory circles, as related to Jewish and Israel issues: 

Image: Flickr

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State

Why Trump picked him: Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has vast national security experience and strong connections to secure a swift Senate confirmation.

What he’s said on Israel: Rubio, 53, has echoed Trump’s “peace through strength” doctrine and called to allow Israel to do what’s needed to defeat Hamas. In a viral video earlier this year, Rubio said he expected Israel “to destroy every element of Hamas.” Rubio likened the Israeli ground operation in Rafah, which was opposed by the Biden Administration, to the Allies’ pursuit of Adolf Hitler during the Second World War.

What he’s said on Iran: Rubio has advocated for reinstating tough economic sanctions on Iran to weaken its terror networks and prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Relationship with Jews: Norman Braman, an auto dealership magnate and past president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, was Rubio’s political patron. Rubio surprised pro-Israel backers with his April vote against emergency funding to Israel because it lacked border enforcement measures. Rubio excused Trump after he repeatedly accused American Jews of disloyalty to Israel and suggested they must hate their religion if they vote for Democrats. 

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense

What he’s said on Israel: Hegseth, 44, a Fox News host, provided favourable coverage of Israel on the network and said that his time in the US Army turned him into a supporter of the Jewish state. He interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in March and said, “Israel needs our support.” He also ran a three-part series on Fox Nation, “Battle in the Holy Land: Israel at War,” that focused on the war in Gaza and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “There’s no doubt this is a fight that Israel needs to finish,” Hegseth said, echoing Trump’s call for Israel to finish the job and eliminate Hamas.

A hardliner on Iran: Hegseth called for US military action against Iran back in 2020. “I don’t want boots on the ground, I don’t want occupation, I don’t want endless war,” he said on Fox News. “But Iran has been in endless war with us for 40 years. Either we put up and shut up now and stop it, or we kind of wait, go back to the table, and let them dither while they attempt to continue to develop the capabilities to do precisely what they said they want to do.”

Image: Flickr

Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser

Why it matters: The selection of Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, a former Green Beret with a staunchly pro-Israel record, to lead the National Security Council signals Trump’s intent to maintain his strong support for Israel in a second term and take a tougher approach toward Iran.

What he’s said on Israel: Waltz, 53, consistently criticised the Biden Administration’s foreign policy, describing it as one of “concession and chaos”. He strongly supports Israel’s war in Gaza and praised Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah operatives and elimination of the terror group’s commanding leadership. Even before the war in Gaza, Waltz said the US should allow Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear program. Last month, Waltz recommended that Israel strike Kharg Island, a crucial hub for Iran’s oil exports, and its nuclear facilities at Natanz.

One of his key tasks: Waltz, a staunch advocate for expanding the Abraham Accords, will play a central role in talks with Saudi Arabia to advance Trump’s goal of achieving regional peace and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Elise Stefanik, US Ambassador to the UN

What it means for Israel: Stefanik, 40, brings her national security experience and a combative, unapologetic style to the United Nations at a critical juncture for Israel and the Middle East. With tensions expected to rise around Iran’s nuclear ambitions and increasing global pressure on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Stefanik could position herself as a formidable ally for Israel. Stefanik recently called to cut off aid for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), which the UN claims is the main supplier of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

Her popularity among conservative Jews: Stefanik gained popularity in the Jewish and pro-Israel community earlier this year after challenging the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania on whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate their campus codes of conduct.

Image: Flickr

Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel

Why he got the job: Huckabee, 69, enjoys the trust of both Trump and Netanyahu. Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas, has been traveling to Israel since 1973 and says he’s taken more than 100 trips there since. A MAGA loyalist, Huckabee is a seasoned advocate for Israeli interests. His influence could bolster Netanyahu’s outreach to US evangelical Christians, a community Netanyahu has increasingly prioritised in recent years.

What he’s said on Israel: Last year, he led a mission of Evangelical leaders to Israel following the October 7 attacks. “I came here to say loud and clear that evangelicals stand with Israel,” Huckabee said. In 2008, Huckabee said, “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.” During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Huckabee said he saw the West Bank as an “integral part” of Israel. In 2017, he said, “There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement.”

A supporter of annexation: In a radio interview following the announcement of his new role, Huckabee said there’s a chance that Israel will be given the green light to annex the West Bank in a second Trump term.

Unconventional pick: Huckabee would be the first non-Jewish ambassador since 2011 and the first non-Jewish appointee without diplomatic experience in more than four decades.

Image: Screenshot

Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East

Why he was picked: Witkoff, 67, has no diplomatic experience. However, he has a longstanding trusted relationship with Trump, and with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was instrumental during the first Trump Administration in crafting the Trump peace plan and brokering the Abraham Accords. Like Kushner, Witkoff brings a real estate negotiating approach that Trump values. Witkoff has served as the Trump campaign’s backchannel to the Jewish business community, particularly after President Joe Biden halted the shipment of 2000-pound weapons to Israel.

Relationship with Israel: Witkoff attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July, and found it moving, especially when Netanyahu talked about the hostages in Gaza – some of whom were at the Capitol that day. “It felt spiritual”, Witkoff said on the Fox Business channel the next day, “and yet, that’s not the reaction you sense that you were getting from many of those Democrats.”

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John Ratcliffe, CIA Director

What it means for Israel: Ratcliffe, 59, previously a member of Congress from Texas and former Director of National Intelligence, accused the Biden Administration of diverting critical US intelligence assets from monitoring terrorist groups like Hamas. During the presidential campaign, he criticised Vice President Kamala Harris for promoting “a false narrative” that portrayed Israel as targeting innocent Palestinians in Gaza. Ratcliffe also supported the 2017 travel ban that restricted immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

What he’s said on Iran: In a recent interview with Fox News, Ratcliffe praised Israeli strikes on Iran, describing them as an example of the ‘Trump Doctrine’ of maximum pressure. He suggested that the US should assist Israel in such military actions.

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Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Adviser

Jewish with strong nationalist views: Miller, 39, declared last month at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, “America is for Americans and Americans only.” He was influential in crafting tough immigration policies during Trump’s first term and the architect behind the policy of separating young children from their undocumented parents. Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017 and reportedly also hoped to eliminate all refugee admissions to the US, dismantling a policy put in place in the wake of the Holocaust.

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Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator 

A Jewish MAGA loyalist: Zeldin, 44, has earned Trump’s trust since voting as a congressman against certifying the 2020 election results. During the campaign, Zeldin was a vocal Trump surrogate and critic of anti-Israel sentiment in the Democratic Party. He excused Trump’s remarks saying Jews would be to blame if the former president lost the election, and he accused Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro of “trying to un-Jewish himself” to become Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential pick.

His Jewish background: Zeldin, who is married to a Mormon, leaned into his Jewish background to rally Orthodox voters during his 2022 New York gubernatorial campaign. His great-grandfather Moshe Efraim “Morris” Zeldin, after whom Zeldin is named, was an Orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn and a pioneer in the Zionist movement. 

Image: Flickr

Matt Gaetz, Attorney-General

Trump raised eyebrows when he announced the nomination of controversial Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, 42, as head of the Justice Department.

What he’s done and said: Earlier this year, Gaetz faced backlash for voting against a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing rising antisemitism in colleges and universities, invoking an antisemitic trope that Jews killed Jesus. Gaetz called the Anti-Defamation League “racist” in 2021 after it urged Fox News to fire host Tucker Carlson for promoting the antisemitic “Great Replacement Theory”. In 2019, Gaetz suggested that George Soros, the Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire and frequent target of antisemitic tropes, was behind an alleged migrant caravan.

Image: Flickr

Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence

A military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman for Hawaii who later left the party, Gabbard, has been strongly critical of the Biden Administration as insufficiently supportive of Israel since October 7, and has been vocal against Islamist terrorism and expressed support for the Jewish state. 

However, some of Gabbard’s past anti-war stances make her controversial in pro-Israel circles. Most notoriously, she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017, and defended his attacks on Syrian civilians.

Gabbard also voted against a House resolution condemning the December 2016 United Nations Security Council resolution condemning and declaring illegal all Israeli settlements. She said that she shared the concerns of the Obama Administration – which declined to veto the resolution – about settlements. She also condemned Israel for firing live ammunition at rioters at the Gaza fence in 2018.

In 2019, Gabbard refused to condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for antisemitic comments about US support for Israel and voted in favour of a resolution sponsored by Omar designed to defend the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. However, Gabbard has also expressed personal opposition to BDS and voted in favour of some anti-BDS legislation.

She also criticised the first Trump Administration for killing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020, describing the strike as an unconstitutional act of war.

Outside advisers and people with access 

• Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, who said earlier this year he would not return to the White House, is involved behind the scenes and could be a key player in a potential normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

• Massad Boulos, the Lebanese American father-in-law of Tiffany Trump who led outreach to Arab-American communities during the election, is likely to be the point person for Lebanon and have Trump’s ear on the Middle East.

• David Friedman, Trump’s first ambassador to Israel, is interested in returning to a national security position to influence Middle East policy and advance a pro-settlement agenda.

• Arthur Schwartz, a behind-the-scenes operator and Twitter troll who has been Donald Trump Jr.’s political adviser for years and is close to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

• Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and provocateur who flew with Trump and appeared with him in September and uses her Jewishness to attack opponents.

Other influencers within Trump’s close circle who have promoted antisemitic tropes and are associated with white nationalists include former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.

Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward’s senior political reporter. Additional reporting by AIJAC staff. This story originally appeared in the New York-based Forward, a leading American Jewish publication.