Mike Huckabee jams on stage to controversial version of 'Sweet Home Alabama'

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, made a surprise appearance Monday night in Jerusalem – bass guitar in hand – to perform a rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama,” only with the "lyrics changed to push for Greater Israel,” reported writer Chris Menahan.

Huckabee was a surprise guest at the United Hatzalah Concert, a musical event celebrating the release of the remaining Israeli hostages earlier on Monday. Among the songs performed was a rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama,” a song famously written and performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd in protest to criticisms of the American south for its history of slavery.

The lyrics, however, were changed to champion Israeli control of the entire city of Jerusalem, which a United Nations court has deemed “unlawful” and considers to be an illegal occupation and annexation. The revised lyrics also included condemnations of the U.N. over its various resolutions condemning Israel for human rights violations.

“Sweet home Yerushalem, where God's words ring so true!” a performer sang as Huckabee strummed the bass guitar, with “Yerushalem” being the Hebrew name for Jerusalem.

“Sweet home Yerushalem, lord I’m coming home to you! Well France and friends don’t think it’s Jewish. The United Nations call us crooks! But Donald Trump claims it’s all Israel, just as it says in all the holy books! Yeah!”

Greater Israel refers to the territorial aspirations of some Israelis to expand the nation’s borders to include the entirety of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as portions of its neighbors Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – indicted for war crimes last year by the International Criminal Court – said as recently as August that he “absolutely” subscribed to a “vision” for “greater Israel.”

Huckabee has been a staunch ally to Israel, a devotion that’s “deeply rooted in his evangelical Christian faith,” PBS News reported. Critics have argued that Huckabee’s unwavering support for Israel is rooted, in part, in fulfilling a biblical prophecy from the Old Testament to bring about the second coming of Jesus Christ.