Michael Oren’s Party Leader Disowns Remarks in Book
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The head of Israel’s Kulanu party has apologized to the Obama administration for party member Michael Oren’s public criticism of the U.S. president.
In a letter to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Moshe Kahlon wrote, “I distance myself from the statements made by Michael Oren. President Obama has greatly contributed to Israel’s security,” Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday.
The letter reportedly noted that Oren’s comments, made in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed published Monday, were “only his personal opinion” and did not represent the Kulanu party.
In his Op-Ed, Oren, the American-born former Israeli ambassador to Washington, accused Obama of abandoning the two core principles that undergird the U.S.-Israel relationship: no public disagreements and no surprises.
The piece coincided with the launch of Oren’s new book, “Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide.”
“With the Middle East unraveling and dependable allies a rarity, the U.S. and Israel must restore the ‘no daylight’ and ‘no surprises’ principles,” Oren wrote in the Op-Ed. “Israel has no alternative to America as a source of security aid, diplomatic backing and overwhelming popular support. The U.S. has no substitute for the state that, though small, remains democratic, militarily and technologically robust, strategically located and unreservedly pro-American.”
A centrist-right party founded last year, Kulanu is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
