Would Israel be better off under Republican or Democrat leadership? Listen to Israeli Amb. Michael Oren

Amb. Michael Oren and Hillary Clinton (photo: IsraelMatzav)

On a visit to Los Angeles to promote his book, "Ally," Israeli Amb. Michael Oren discussed the Democrat administration's treatment and often, mistreatment of Israel, despite its professing "no daylight" between the two countries. Elliott Abrams reviewed the book in Commentary, entitled "The Ally that Wasn't'- Michael Oren memoir blasts Barack Obama, but pulls its punches elsewhere." 

The first thing to say about the book is that it should not have been published—not before January 2017, that is. Oren writes about Netanyahu, Obama, and many other people who are still in power, and he writes about issues and problems over which they are still fighting. . . . But to judge it on its own terms, Ally is very well written, engaging, and enormously interesting.

Amb. Oren spoke to a capacity audience in the Nixon Library in Southern California during his book tour in the Summer, 2015.

Donald Trump's campaign Israel Advisory Committee co-chairs Jason Dov Greenblat and David Friedman, released this statement days ago regarding Mr. Trump's prospective administration's position on Israel:

It has been an exhilarating election cycle. Approximately seven months ago, we were blessed to have been tapped by Donald J. Trump to be his top advisors with respect to the State of Israel. We have been fortunate to work with a talented team of people and have put together the below positions. Each of these positions have been discussed with Mr. Trump and the Trump campaign, and most have been stated, in one form or another, by Mr. Trump in various interviews or speeches given by him or on his social media accounts.

For those of you who are true friends of the State of Israel, and for those of you who believe that the State of Israel and the United States of America have an unbreakable friendship, we urge you to read the below. We would like to express our gratitude to those individuals who have helped us over the past few months – we truly appreciate your efforts, friendship and guidance. We would also like to express our gratitude to our friend, a great friend of the State of Israel, Donald J. Trump, who gave us the tremendous opportunity to serve in this capacity. May God bless the United States of America and the State of Israel.


"The unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel is based upon shared values of democracy, freedom of speech, respect for minorities, cherishing life, and the opportunity for all citizens to pursue their dreams. Israel is the state of the Jewish people, who have lived in that land for 3,500 years. The State of Israel was founded with courage and determination by great men and women against enormous odds and is an inspiration to people everywhere who value freedom and human dignity. Israel is a staunch ally of the U.S. and a key partner in the global war against Islamic jihadism. Military cooperation and coordination between Israel and the U.S. must continue to grow. 

The American people value our close friendship and alliance with Israel — culturally, religiously, and politically. While other nations have required U.S. troops to defend them, Israelis have always defended their own country by themselves and only ask for military equipment assistance and diplomatic support to do so. The U.S. does not need to nation-build in Israel or send troops to defend Israel. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the American and Israeli Governments is a good first step, but there is much more to be done. A Trump Administration will ensure that Israel receives maximum military, strategic and tactical cooperation from the United States, and the MOU will not limit the support that we give. Further, Congress will not be limited to give support greater than that provided by the MOU if it chooses to do so. Israel and the United States benefit tremendously from what each country brings to the table – the relationship is a two way street.

Tim Constantine of The Capitol Hill Show and the Washington Times reviews the candidates' speeches to AIPAC in March

The U.S. should veto any United Nations votes that unfairly single out Israel and will work in international institutions and forums, including in our relations with the European Union, to oppose efforts to delegitimize Israel, impose discriminatory double standards against Israel, or to impose special labeling requirements on Israeli products or boycotts on Israeli goods. The U.S. should cut off funds for the UN Human Rights Council, a body dominated by countries presently run by dictatorships that seems solely devoted to slandering the Jewish State. UNESCO’s attempt to disconnect the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore Israel’s 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias of the United Nations. The U.S. should view the effort to boycott, divest from, and sanction (BDS) Israel as inherently anti-Semitic and take strong measures, both diplomatic and legislative, to thwart actions that are intended to limit commercial relations with Israel, or persons or entities doing business in Israeli areas, in a discriminatory manner. The BDS movement is just another attempt by the Palestinians to avoid having to commit to a peaceful coexistence with Israel. The false notion that Israel is an occupier should be rejected. The Trump administration will ask the Justice Department to investigate coordinated attempts on college campuses to intimidate students who support Israel.

 

Amb. Michael Oren, MK, addresses Shimon Peres' legacy on night of promoting Druze veteran cause in L.A.

L.A. Mayor Villaragosa, Israeli Amb Michael Oren, Pres. Shimon Peres on a
previous night in Beverly  Hills Photo: Fredric J. Brown/AFP/ Getty Images 

On the night of Shimon Peres' death, September 27th in L.A. MK Michael Oren (Kulanu party) remarks on the life of Shimon Peres and Druze-Israeli contributions to Israel and her stability. Presentation at Beth Jacob Congregation of Beverly Hills.



Ambassador Oren responds to audience questions about (among other things) the difference between Israel and Obama's beliefs regarding Islamist Iran and other topics, some of which he addressed in his revelatory book, "Ally," which exposed Democrat administration duplicity towards Americans' longtime ally, Israel.

White House forces limitations on Israel in new military-aid conditions

Obama limits all appropriation to be spent in America, blocks Israel from Congress.

"The U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Mis-Understanding" by Eli Lake,  Bloomberg.com 15 Sept '16 

Netanyahu meets Obama in Oval Office Nov '15 (Doug Mills/NY Times)

According to the governments in Jerusalem and Washington, this was a great week for the U.S.-Israel relationship. The two countries arrived at a "memorandum of understanding" to extend the U.S. subsidy of Israel's military budget until 2028. President Barack Obama, no fan of Israel's current leader, declared: "America's commitment to Israel's security is unshakable."

It would be pleasant to believe this. It's not true though. America's commitment to Israel's security is quite shakable. Indeed, Obama has done much of the shaking. That reminder puts the new memorandum into perspective.

For much of Obama's presidency, he said he would lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran dismantling its nuclear infrastructure. This was a big part of how he dissuaded Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, from bombing Iran's nuclear facilities.

But that's not the deal the U.S. and other nations struck with Iran. Obama ended up agreeing to legitimize and legalize Iran's nuclear infrastructure and to lift limits on production of nuclear fuel after 15 years. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protested Obama's Iran bargain to Congress, the White House quietly encouraged fellow Democrats to boycott his speech.   

After all of this bad blood, in the last months of his administration, Obama has decided to sign an agreement with Israel that guarantees $3.8 billion per year between 2018 and 2028. On paper it seems generous. As Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said Wednesday, this is the "single largest pledge of military assistance -- to any country -- in American history."

The fine print tells a different story. The key word in Rice's statement is "pledge." Congress is the body that appropriates the annual aid budget. When Obama is long gone, it will be Congress that doles out the money for Israel to spend on U.S. military equipment. So one aspect of the aid deal should raise eyebrows: terms saying that Israel will stop making its case directly to Congress for military aid.

Morris Amitay, a former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, told me he had never before heard of a president asking a sovereign country, as part of an aid package negotiation, not to lobby Congress.