You're listening to a special edition of the World and Everything in it.

I'm Travis Kircher.

Last fall, I went to Israel on a reporting trip for World and experienced one of the highlights of my career.

The last days of my trip coincided with the release of the hostages taken on October 7.

Watching them come home alongside the Israeli people is a memory I'll hold forever.

It was a special day for U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as well.

He's been in politics a long time, serving as governor of

Arkansas for more than a decade. Huckabee says that his staunch support of Israel over the years

is grounded in his Christian faith, and he says part of his job is to convince Americans that

Israel is important to the U.S., not just the other way around.

Having the chance to talk to Ambassador Huckabee recently was the perfect way to bring my trip to

Israel full circle, and you'll hear that conversation shortly, but a brief note before we begin.

You'll hear him reference Judea and Samaria several times. He is speaking of what

others refer to as the West Bank. Palestinians call it the West Bank because it's on the

western bank of the Jordan River. The Israeli government refers to it as Judea and Samaria

because it consists of those biblical lands. Same place.

Different names.

In a moment, my conversation with Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

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Ambassador Huckabee, Shalom.

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