Former Arkansas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Sunday addressed the Israel Day Concert in Central Park in New York.

“My first trip to Israel was in 1973, I was 17, and it became the first of dozens of trips I’ve made over the past 42 years to this remarkable land, with whom the United States has not just an organizational relationship but an organic relationship,” he said.

“It is a matter of our existence that the United States and Israel maintain their unique friendship and alliance,” continued Huckabee, who said that the alliance has been threatened to the point where “we put more pressure on Israel about building bedrooms in Judea and Samaria than we’re willing to put on Iran for building a bomb. This does not make sense.”

The existence of Israel, he warned, “is truly at stake when you have people who openly declare that one of their stated intentions is wipe Israel from the face of the earth”, a reference to Iran.

“How can we negotiate with Iran when their people take to the streets and chant ‘Death to America’? I’d say that if we continue believing that we can have a relationship with Iranians and their government, we might as well say ‘death to sanity’ because that’s what we’re giving a license to,” declared Huckabee.

The former Governor also said dividing Jerusalem and giving away more territory is not the way to achieve peace.

“I’d suggest that the one way to make peace that Jerusalem will never be divided and it will be in the hands of Israel, that it is the capital of Israel and thank G-d that the Israelis are willing to protect the holy sites for all people – Muslim, Christian or Jew,” he declared.