Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, has joined forces with Moshe Kahlon and added his name to the Kulanu party list, Channel 2 news reported Friday.
The US-born Oren, 55, a historian and author, was appointed to the Washington post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and served as ambassador from 2009-2013.
His readiness to join ex-Likud minister and now Netanyahu rival Kahlon was thus seen as a surprise, the TV report said.
A Channel 2 poll published Thursday suggested that Netanyahu’s Likud party would win 23 seats in the March 17 elections, one seat fewer than the new Labor-Hatnua alliance agreed this week by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni. Former Likud minister Kahlon’s Kulanu could win 10-13 seats, several recent polls suggest, including by attracting traditional Likud voters.
The New York-born Oren immigrated to Israel in 1979. He served as a paratrooper in the Lebanon War, is a bestselling author and historian with a doctorate in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton, and has taught and lectured widely including as a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
