At ToI event, Michael Oren to talk about Israel-US relations in the Trump era
The deputy minister and former ambassador will speak with David Horovitz in Jerusalem at live English event on May 28
How should Israel assess the impact of US President Donald Trump’s visit? What are the prospects for a renewed peace process with the Palestinians? After all the ups and downs, what’s the current state of the Israel-US relationship? And where does that nuclear deal with Iran leave Israel’s security in the long term?
These are just a few of the issues Michael Oren will discuss with The Times of Israel’s founding editor David Horovitz in a live interview in Jerusalem on Sunday, May 28.
Oren, a deputy government minister and former Israeli ambassador to Washington, is the latest guest in The Times of Israel Presents series at the Beit Shmuel Theater in Jerusalem.
Oren was involved in the preparations for Trump’s visit, has held talks with Jason Greenblatt, the new American peace envoy, and enjoys access to the White House.
“We are trying to create the conditions that are conducive to renewing talks,” he says, but he remains to be convinced whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can deliver a deal even if pushed by the Americans.
“I have my long-held doubts whether he is capable or willing,” he says.
On Iran, Oren is even more pessimistic.
“The US has signed three non-proliferation treaties with rogue states. Two of those rogue states have violated the treaties and the US under Trump has responded. The third rogue state, Iran, in contrast to the first two, does not have to violate the treaty in order to achieve weapons of mass destruction. It just has to accord with the agreement,” he says.
Oren has written several books, including “Six Days of War,” the definitive history of the 1967 Six Day War, and the New York Times bestseller “Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide,” which recounts his experience as Israel’s ambassador under the Obama administration.
Oren studied at Harvard and Princeton before immigrating to Israel where he became a historian and then a diplomat. He served as ambassador to Washington from 2009 to 2013. He was elected to the Knesset as a member of Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party in 2015 and appointed deputy minister in charge of public diplomacy last year.
He is now involved in developing joint economic projects with the Palestinian Authority and seeking ways to increase the number of Palestinians from the West Bank working in Israel.
David Horovitz will ask Michael Oren about all these issues and more in an English-language interview live on stage in Jerusalem on Sunday, May 28, in an event co-produced with Nefesh B’Nefesh. There will also be the opportunity to buy signed copies of his books, courtesy of Katamon Books. Join us for what promises to be an evening to remember.
Michael Oren in Conversation
May 28 at 8:00 p.m., Hirsch Theater
Beit Shmuel, 6 Eliyahu Shama Street, Jerusalem
Tickets: NIS 60. Advance tickets: NIS 50, HERE
Produced in association with Nefesh B’Nefesh
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