| Former Israeli Ambassador Michael
Oren's latest book, Ally, is a riveting description of the
relationship between Israel and the United States. Readers
get a behind the scenes look at how the Obama Administration
has a one sided point of view. Through his numerous notes
and direct insight, Oren tells of the struggles Israel has
had with the Obama Administration, especially regarding the
Iranian nuclear deal. He warns that Israel is in existential
danger, that his only agenda is a reality check regarding
this administration's policies toward Israel.
Oren, born in America, feels a kinship with America's culture,
principles, and spirit. He remembers his father telling the
family war stories and, during his first combat mission in
the war, Operation Peace for the Galilee, he thought of his
father's experience, wondering "how I would conduct myself
under fire."
Throughout the book Oren emphasizes the closeness he feels
with both America and Israel. Yet, some in the media like
Newsweek's Jonathan Broder attempt to discredit him by writing,
"The American-born Oren, who renounced his U.S. citizenship
and now serves as a lawmaker in Netanyahu's right-wing coalition,
transforms from a measured historian into a breathless polemicist."
This is anything but the truth. Oren noted, "By Federal
law any American who officially served a foreign county had
to renounce their US Citizenship. My loyalties to the United
States and the Jewish State are mutually validating."
He wrote in the book how his love for America is filled with
gratitude. "From the time that all four of my grandparents
arrived on Ellis Island, through the Great Depression, in
which they raised my parents, and the farm-bound community
in which I grew up, America held out the chance to excel.
True, prejudice was prevalent, but so, too, was our ability
to fight it. Unreservedly, I referred to Americans as 'we.'
The United States and Israel, are both democracies, both freedom-loving,
and similarly determined to defend their independence. One
could be - in fact, should be - a Zionist as well as a patriotic
American, because the two countries stood for identical ideals."
Except now Israel is being thrown under the bus with the Iranian
nuclear deal.
Why do some in the press want to discredit Oren's roots?
Possibly because the Ambassador is publicly warning that the
Obama Administration is setting a dangerous precedent concerning
the Iranian nuclear deal. As Daniel Silva profoundly wrote
in his latest book, The English Spy, "Now the president's
confronted with a world gone mad, and he doesn't have a clue
as to what to do about it."
Oren noted to blackfive.net about another irrational period
in history and compared it to the current situation: "Let's
remember one infamous example, when the Nazis pursued their
insane ends. Even during the last days of World War II, as
the Allied armies liberated Europe, they diverted precious
military resources to exterminating Jews. The Israeli position
is that this Iranian regime is irrational. Unlike Israel,
which is in Iran's backyard, the US is not threatened by the
proximity of national annihilation. This is about our survival
as a people. It's about our children and grandchildren. What
may look like an academic debate here in America is for us
in Israel a matter of life and death."
Asked if he agrees with the quote from former CIA Director
Michael Hayden, who said of Iran, "The enemy of our enemy
is still our enemy," Oren told blackfive.net that Americans
should not forget that Iran "wants to wipe Israel off
the face of the earth, something they have been calling for
the last thirty years. Let's not forget they also attempted
to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC and assassinate
the Saudi Ambassador. Iran, and its terrorist groups have
killed more Americans than any other terrorist group outside
of Al Qaeda. This does not even include those in the American
military who were killed by Iran during the Iraq War. They
are not friends."
But a true friend, an ally, is defined by Oren as assisting
"in saving American lives on and off the battlefield.
On an ideological level, an ally is a country that shares
America's values, reflects its founding spirit, and resonates
with its peoples' beliefs. And an ally stimulates the U.S.
economy through trade, technological innovation, and job creation.
The two countries I love need to unite on issues vital to
both, and yet they remain separated ideologically and even
strategically. However, on issues of security, anybody in
the Israeli military, in the intelligence community, will
tell you that security relations between Israel and the United
States are better now than probably any other time in the
past."
In the Middle East, Israel is America's staunchest ally.
Even though the Obama Administration appears not to recognize
this, Americans do. A recent Gallup Poll shows that two out
of three Americans sympathize with Israel, with support for
Israel in the United States rising, not declining.
Ambassador Oren wrote this book, Ally, to send a
clear message: " A friend who stands by his friends on
some issues but not others is, in Middle Eastern eyes, not
really a friend. In a region famous for its unforgiving sun,
any daylight is searing." Ally is a must read because
it alerts people that Israel faces the greatest challenge
they have faced since World War II. |
