At a visit to Magen David Adom’s (MDA) National Headquarters and blood center in Ramle on Gimmel Tammuz, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that his visit to the Rebbe’s Ohel before his Senate confirmation was at the personal advice of … President Donald Trump.

By Anash.org reporter 

At a visit to Magen David Adom’s (MDA) National Headquarters and state-of-the-art blood center in Ramle – where he and his wife, Janet, donated blood on behalf of the hostages still held in Gaza – U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that his visit to the Rebbe’s Ohel before his Senate confirmation was at the personal advice of … President Donald Trump.

The ambassador’s visit, which took place on Sunday, Gimmel Tammuz, was accompanied by MDA Director-General Eli Bin and MDA Global President Gilad Erdan, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN. 

During the tour, he was shown MDA’s fortified operations center, advanced emergency fleet, and Israel’s secure underground blood bank. He met with MDA emergency responders who provided lifesaving care during Operation Rising Lion and personally thanked the volunteers for their dedication.

“They all share the same goal”, Huckabee said. “To save lives. That’s what makes this organization so special.” Erdan and Bin thanked the Ambassador, “for your love of Israel and your meaningful contribution today.”

The highlight of the visit came when Itzik Levi, who runs the MDA station in Kfar Chabad, presented Ambassador Huckabee with two volumes of My Story, the JEM-published books of personal encounters with the Rebbe. 

In an interview with Anash.org, Levi shared that he was notified about the ambassador’s scheduled visit for Gimmel Tammuz and asked to come meet him. “So I went to the store, bought the books, and had the ambassador’s name embossed on them,” he said.

“When I met the ambassador, I began telling him about Gimmel Tammuz and started explaining who the Rebbe is,” Levi continued. “Gilad Erdan was translating my Hebrew for the ambassador  when the ambassador interrupted me and said:”

“Stop, stop, stop. Don’t tell me who the Rebbe is! Before my congressional hearing for the appointment, the president told me to go pray at the Ohel. I was there, I prayed – and I got the position!”

As reported by Anash.org, Huckabee’s quiet visit to the Rebbe’s Ohel several months ago, ahead of his Senate confirmation, made national headlines. At the time, he told Israel National News: “After visiting the Ohel, I’m even more confident it will all work out.”

Now, it has come to light that the visit was not Huckabee’s idea alone  – it was suggested directly by President Donald Trump himself. 

Just months earlier, when still running for election, Trump himself had visited the Ohel to mark the anniversary of Oct. 7, after which his polling numbers, which had previously been down, saw a noticeable and immediate rise, as was widely reported. It appears the president, having experienced the impact of visiting the Rebbe’s Ohel firsthand, encouraged his nominee to go there as well, hoping it would help secure his confirmation. 

Just this week, Trump marked Gimmel Tammuz by sending an emotional letter to the Rebbe’s Ohel, where he praised the Rebbe’s impact on American society and the global work of the Rebbe’s Shluchim, noting that he drew “strength and inspiration” from the visit.

The conversation between Levi and Huckabee lasted several meaningful minutes. Huckabee mentioned that he was well aware of Gimmel Tammuz and brought up the letter the President had sent to the Ohel. He later reposted the letter and shared his own personal experience visiting the Ohel, writing:

 “On the Sunday before my confirmation hearing in March, I visited the Ohel with Jewish friends, and it was very meaningful.”

Given the significance of the day, Itzik Levi also took the opportunity to help many of those present put on tefillin, including several high-profile MDA officials such as Director-General Eli Bin and Deputy Director of Operations Gil Mushkowitz.

“To see a Christian U.S. ambassador speak so proudly about visiting the Ohel and to hear him say that it played a role in his successful confirmation – is something incredible,” Levi concluded. “But the fact that it was the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, who encouraged him to go… it just shows you the unbelievable koach of the Rebbe and the incredible times we are living in – right before the coming of Moshiach!”