![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nOren: \u201cTraditionally, if there was a problem with an [American] administration, we went to Congress. If there were problems with Congress, we went to the administration. We can\u2019t do that. There\u2019s nobody we can go to complain to.\u201d \n<\/p>\n
Israel is in a more difficult position with the US administration than ever before and is potentially more isolated than it has been in decades, according to former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren.<\/p>\n
Last week, Oren briefed a small group of foreign journalists at an event organized by MediaCentral, speaking on the record about the state of the country, its leadership, and where things may go from here. Over copious plates of salads and grilled meats at a Tel Aviv restaurant, Oren\u2014who was born in the United States, immigrated to Israel in 1979, and later became one of its most recognizable diplomats\u2014was unabashed in his assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He did not mince words when discussing Israel\u2019s predicament, the possibility that Netanyahu may yet survive politically, and the country\u2019s future if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fails to secure the northern front.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time in history, we have no recourse,\u201d Oren said. \u201cTraditionally, if there was a problem with an [American] administration, we went to Congress. If there were problems with Congress, we went to the administration. We can\u2019t do that. There\u2019s nobody we can go to complain to.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Oren, Israel has \u201clost the Democratic Party,\u201d while the Republican Party is divided between leaders who \u201cmay not like us very much\u201d and those intensely loyal to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, who are we left with? Maybe, at times, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz. That\u2019s a slim limb to be hanging from,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
So, who are we left with? Maybe, at times, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz. That\u2019s a slim limb to be hanging from<\/p>\n
Several Republicans have told him that the US midterm elections, scheduled for Nov. 3, are an \u201cexistential fight for Trump,\u201d Oren said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Democrats win in November, they\u2019ll really move to impeach him, and [Trump will] spend the next two years trying to stay out of jail,\u201d he said. President Trump\u2019s supporters believe that if he does not contain the conflict in Lebanon, he will be viewed unfavorably, Oren explained. Netanyahu, meanwhile, understands that if Israel loses in Lebanon, \u201che can find himself being Citizen Netanyahu and not prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Oren believes Netanyahu bears responsibility for \u201calienating the Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI opposed his March 2015 speech to Congress,\u201d Oren said, referring to the controversial address Netanyahu delivered to a joint session of the Republican-led US Congress. Netanyahu was invited without the Obama administration\u2019s input and used the platform to oppose the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iran nuclear deal that Obama later signed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was going to affect the vote on the nuclear deal at all, and it didn\u2019t; and it would only cost us further support in the Democratic Party,\u201d Oren contended. \u201cThey still talk about that speech, so I don\u2019t know what we gained.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Oren said, there are multiple potential Democratic presidential candidates, including many who are Jewish, and \u201cpretty much all of them are highly critical of Israel.\u201d He welcomed Netanyahu\u2019s effort to negotiate a new framework for defense cooperation and US military aid. Referring to the decade-long arrangement Netanyahu hopes to put in place to protect Israel, however, Oren is not convinced the country has that much time.<\/p>\n
In January, Netanyahu unveiled a plan to phase out US military aid and replace it with expanded joint defense initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Democrats come back, they\u2019re going to cut it [the aid] off immediately. There\u2019s a big difference between morphing into a partnership where we\u2019re equal partners and one where one side is simply cutting off the aid,\u201d Oren said.<\/p>\n
For Jews living in the United States and other parts of the Diaspora, the situation is becoming increasingly untenable. According to Tel Aviv University\u2019s 2025 Annual Antisemitism Report, 20 Jews were murdered in antisemitic attacks last year, the highest annual toll in more than three decades. The report also found that in every Western country, antisemitic incidents remained dozens of percentage points higher than before the Gaza war. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in Australia, Canada, most recently in Italy and France. In every community I\u2019ve visited, they say there\u2019s no future for that community, which is very disheartening,\u201d Oren told journalists. \u201cIt\u2019s like we\u2019re reaching a situation where the Diaspora as we know it is going to constrict very, very fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the past, Oren said, if there was antisemitism in France, Jews could move to England, Canada, or New York. Those options, he said, are not especially reassuring now either. When Hamas broke through Israel\u2019s border on the morning of Oct. 7, he said, it \u201cbroke through a dam, which had held back the currents of antisemitism for about 80 years, and what followed was a torrent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oren contended that it may not matter who wins Israel\u2019s election later this year, whether it is Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, or even Netanyahu. There will ultimately not be a new perception of Israel, he said. While the country may receive a \u201cgrace period\u201d of two or three weeks if there is a new prime minister, he said, the train has left the station, and it will be very difficult to bring it back. That is especially true, he argued, because \u201cthere\u2019s going to be no fundamental shift in the policies that might affect our position in the world because no one\u2019s going to sit around and create a Palestinian state tomorrow. No one\u2019s going to be less aggressive in Gaza or in Lebanon. They\u2019ll probably be more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren. (Courtesy: MediaCentral)<\/p>\n
For Oren, Israel must remain aggressive in Lebanon because the battle against Hezbollah \u201cis not a strategic issue. This is an existential issue \u2026 If we lose the North, we lose the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
If we lose the North, we lose the country<\/p>\n
He said that if Israel stops short, Hezbollah\u2019s rockets will eventually be launched toward Ashkelon instead of Metula.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a large segment of the people who now define themselves as anti-Zionist, it\u2019s not what we do anymore; it\u2019s who we are, and that\u2019s not going to change,\u201d Oren stressed.<\/p>\n
For a large segment of the people who now define themselves as anti-Zionist, it\u2019s not what we do anymore; it\u2019s who we are, and that\u2019s not going to change<\/p>\n
Oren added that while Netanyahu is no doubt partly responsible for the events that transpired on Oct. 7, he should not be seen as solely responsible, even if \u201cthe buck ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Oren, only a few days before the massacre, \u201cthe government had a meeting where they decided to send a delegation to Cairo to offer Hamas de facto sovereignty over Gaza and to be part of a gas-sharing operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Details of that account will be included in a new book Oren is publishing later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the government until 2019, and I had a tremendous amount of responsibility for Gaza,\u201d Oren recounted. \u201cI worked closely with the army, worked closely with the Shabak [Israel Security Agency], worked closely with Mossad. And I will tell you unconditionally, unequivocally, that the \u201cconcepzia,\u201d as they call it, was that Hamas was deterred, was that Hamas wanted to devote its time to developing Gaza, was uninterested in the conflict, and that Israel could focus on the serious dangers, which were Hezbollah and Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said this was not only the consensus among Israeli leaders but also among American officials, including those in both the Biden and Trump administrations. According to Oren, no one other than Member of Knesset Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beitenu party and a former defense minister, had ever outwardly challenged that assumption.<\/p>\n
Even after nearly three years of war, Oren said, \u201cit\u2019s always premature to eulogize\u201d Netanyahu politically.<\/p>\n
The country remains deeply divided, he said. In his largely Mizrahi neighborhood in southern Israel, \u201cyou don\u2019t hear a word against Bibi.\u201d Not far away, where Oren rows on the Yarkon River among a more Ashkenazi, center-left crowd, he encounters people who would do anything to remove Netanyahu from office.<\/p>\n
The problem with Bibi \u2026 he\u2019s a very, very difficult act to follow<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with Bibi \u2026 he\u2019s a very, very difficult act to follow,\u201d Oren said. \u201cHe is physically robust. He spent a lot of time in ridiculously overrated schools, and he\u2019s probably the smartest guy I\u2019ve ever encountered. He is a brilliant politician, whatever you want to say. He\u2019s a survivor.\u201d<\/p>\n
A recent N12 poll showed Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party still leading with 24 seats. The closest rival was former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot\u2019s centrist Yashar party with 22 seats.<\/p>\n
Oren also defended Netanyahu against some of his critics, arguing that he is often blamed for decisions that any Israeli prime minister likely would have made. For example, while President Trump may have dramatically shifted course after the Iran war, Oren does not believe another Israeli prime minister would have acted differently in choosing to confront Iran alongside the United States. He argued that the biggest problem with the US-Iran agreement is not its effect on Israel, but its effect on America\u2019s standing in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an incalculable blow to America\u2019s prestige and deterrence power,\u201d Oren said. \u201cThe Chinese are going to take notice, and the Russians are going to take notice. I can\u2019t imagine any country will join the Abraham Accords right now. If anything, they\u2019ll be seeking rapprochement with Tehran very quickly. I think they\u2019re already doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t imagine any country will join the Abraham Accords right now. If anything, they\u2019ll be seeking rapprochement with Tehran very quickly<\/p>\n
While Israel is still viewed as a powerful regional actor, and some countries may seek strategic or military cooperation, Oren noted that formal diplomatic normalization is likely off the table for now, so long as American power is less of a draw. He said Israel should spend the next several years diversifying its foreign policy by strengthening ties with India, South America, and Africa.<\/p>\n
Why not let another prime minister lead those efforts? Oren suggested Netanyahu may simply not be ready to step aside.<\/p>\n
[Netanyahu] is a man who is a leader, not in history, but of history<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a man who is a leader, not in history, but of history,\u201d Oren said, explaining that Netanyahu sees himself as \u201ctransformative, if not messianic.\u201d He believes he was born to fulfill a mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s a man who\u2019s got a pacemaker, who\u2019s now recovered from cancer, has been through I don\u2019t know what. He doesn\u2019t stop, and you have to ask yourself, what\u2019s driving this human being? What animates him?\u201d Oren said. \u201cWhat animates him is a sense of mission: the mission to save Israel and the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether Oren is right or wrong in his assessment, his message was clear: Israel faces mounting challenges abroad, including an increasingly uncertain relationship with its closest ally. In that environment, who occupies the prime minister\u2019s office may matter less than whether that individual, the country, and the Jewish people can navigate the turbulent years ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oren: \u201cTraditionally, if there was a problem with an [American] administration, we went to Congress. If there were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-518800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}