Oct 02 2021 48 mins
On Episode 5, I spoke with Dr. Michael Oren. Michael served as Israel's ambassador to the U.S. from 2009 to 2013. He is the author of many books, including NYT's best-sellers Power, Faith and Fantasy and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. He recently released his first 2 novels, To All Who Call in Truth, and The Night Archer and Other Stories. I was honored that Michael agreed to blurb my book, A Line in the Sand, which can be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The Jerusalem Post listed Oren as one of the ten most influential Jews in the world. Most relevant to this podcast, Michael was a lone soldier long before that was trendy.
We spoke about the conditions in Israel in 1979 when Michael made Aliyah, as well as the Army. Back then there were also no rules and restrictions about training - his red beret march was twice as long as mine (135 KM!). We also spoke about some of the punishments that Michael endured that today would land the administrating commander in Jail. We touched on Michaels experiences in Lebanon, his time in the Soviet Underground, and his participation in the disengagement from Gaza in 2005.
As someone who has myself struggled with learning disabilities and ADHD, I was interested to hear about how Michael's own learning disabilities shaped his trajectory. He showed me the award he was given for the learning disabled person who has achieved most in life, which he received alongside Joe Biden. Despite the belief many hold that Oren's path was a linear journey from success to success, he experienced many hardships. For a while, he wondered if he would have money to feed his family, and was urged by many to stop writing and pursue a different career path.
We touched on the history of Jews in Judea and Samaria, and the peace process. Michael spoke about Israel's attempted concessions in the wake of the 6-day war, and the Khartoum conference in which the Arab world famously responded with the 3 no's: no peace, no recognition, and no negotiation with Israel. During his time as a member of the Israeli Government, Michael proposed many development projects in Judea and Samaria that were shot down because the Palestinian Authority (PA) did not want to "normalize the occupation," even if it came at the expense of their own people. As an example, Israel offered the PA free COVID vaccines which they refused to accept. We spoke about what it means to actually be pro-Palestinian, the barrier to peace posed by UNRWA, and the danger to Israel of accepting U.S. aid. In 2016, Michael was the only member of the Israeli government who voted against the continuation of U.S. aid, and he explains why.
Michael believes the Biden administration is very pro-Israel, but noted that as Democrats their platform necessarily supports a two-state solution and a deal with Iran. He believes that an ideal outcome is one in which the U.S. and like-minded Nations come together to do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from becoming a Nuclear power.
We touched on the significance of the inclusion of the Arab party in the present ruling coalition, and the implications for the ultra-Orthodox who until then had been the swing voters, and will now perhaps have to lean towards greater compromise.
Finally, we discussed the miracle of Jews from 70 countries who don't share a language or a culture who have come together in country with no natural resources, surrounded by enemies, to forge a common destiny. Israel has exceeded Michael's wildest dreams.