Michael Oren’s recent articles and Ally, his
autobiographical account of his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United
States, have provoked quite a response. Some are upset by the opinions he has
expressed about the Obama administration, and a number of critics have
expressed surprise that Oren is saying and writing things he didn’t say while
he was ambassador.
Here’s a news flash: a diplomat is supposed to be diplomatic.
That means not fully revealing one’s thoughts, private opinions and assessments
of what is actually going on at the time one is serving as a diplomat. It means making the best of a tough situation
and putting a positive spin on stories and situations, even when they are not
positive.
As I wrote in a Times of Israel column when Oren completed his term as Israel’s Ambassador
to the United States, “His approach has been to engage and disarm with charm
and facts those who oppose the positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, leading
me to wonder if those who so vehemently oppose Netanyahu, but so warmly embrace
Oren realize how closely Oren is aligned with Bibi and how much he supports his
positions and policies.”
Many seem to be genuinely surprised and even
personally offended to learn that Oren endorsed and believed in the policies of
the Prime Minister he served and that he actually advocated the positions he espoused
as ambassador. His criticism of American
Jews and Jewish figures does not sit well with some. It seems as though many of those same
American Jews who are quick to offer advice and critiques of Israel and Israeli
policies believe it should be a one-way street.
Rather than offer a simplistic assessment,
Oren lays out the nuances and subtleties of the Obama administration’s approach
to Israel during his years as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States. I saw up close and first-hand how delicately he
handled the crisis that erupted after the visit of Vice President Biden to
Israel. As he mentions in his book, he came to speak at my synagogue right
after having been summoned to the State Department. As he sat down next to me on the bema, he
whispered that he did not know what to say, having come directly from the State
Department where he had just been summoned to be berated over the announcement
by a municipal official of the expansion of a housing development in Jerusalem.
Yet, despite the crisis and the interruption of his speech by several calls from
the Prime Minister, he proceeded to speak calmly, not to lose his composure and
to not publicly reveal the extent of the intensity of the condemnation and the
rift.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the rocky
reception to his book and articles is that he shares painful truths about what
transpired behind the scenes during tough times. He writes about ways in which Obama
was helpful, but also reveals the animosity and sometimes petty slights Obama
displayed towards Israel and its elected leader. The president strangely
choosing not to mention Israel’s widely recognized Herculean efforts after the
hurricane in Haiti while citing the help of other nations, the lack of any
praise for the unprecedented and politically courageous decision to freeze settlements
for ten months, while not demanding any reciprocal actions on the Palestinian
side, and other actions by the president and his administration present
uncomfortable truths for those who want to believe that President Obama has
always acted as a supporter of Israel.
Since Oren is a scholar, historian and writer
of note, his book chronicling these years will be a valuable tool to those
seeking to understand US policy during a tough and antagonistic period in US –
Israel relations.
Perhaps the problem, as expressed by Jack Nicholson’s
character in the movie “A Few Good Men,” is that some people just can’t handle
the truth.
