Mike Huckabee says anti-Semitism is "a real and dangerous threat" and should not be used in a bid to smear Steve Bannon, whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped as his top adviser.
"The Anti-Defamation League issued a strong condemnation of Bannon's appointment by Trump, associating him with white nationalists, anti-Semites and racists. That brought a swift and forceful response from other Jewish leaders in Bannon's defense," the former Arkansas governor said on his Facebook page.
"Most importantly, it enraged his former employees at Breitbart.com, which has a long history of defending Jews and Israel against radical Islam. His Jewish staffers demanded that the ADL put up or shut up by quoting anything anti-Semitic that Bannon has ever said or written.
"The ADL folded, posting a statement on its website that admitted, 'We are not aware of any anti-Semitic statements from Bannon.' So why did you condemn him as an anti-Semite? Having visited Israel well over 40 times, I am well aware of the scary rise in anti-Semitism worldwide."
Huckabee, who became a strong supporter of Trump after an unsuccessful run for the GOP presidential nomination earlier this year, added that he knows and Steve Bannon personally and respects him.
I hope that this public shaming has made the ADL rethink jumping on bandwagons and smearing people as anti-Semites without evidence," Huckabee said.
"Anti-Semitism is a real and dangerous threat. It should not be diminished by using it as a political attack tool, particularly when the target is not only innocent, but also a longtime friend and defender of Israel."
He said "one of the surest signs of a political sea change" that Trump's win has inspired is that Republicans are "no longer caving in when slammed with false attacks."
"The attempted demonization of Trump strategist Steve Bannon is the perfect example of how Republicans will no longer sit by and let their own be unfairly 'Borked' by the left," said Huckabee.
He was referring to late acting Attorney General and Yale Law professor Robert Bork who was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, but rejected by the Senate.