Former Israeli Ambassador to U.S. Michael Oren: Obama abandoned Israel
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● Michael Oren misrepresents the truth, ‘Forward’ and ‘NYT’ editor assert
Former Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, who is currently serving in the Knesset, accused President Barak Obama on Tuesday of abandoning Israel since coming to the White House in 2008.
In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, Oren wrote that both Netanyahu and Obama made mistakes that damaged the ties between the two countries over the past six years, but charged that the U.S. president did so "deliberately."
Oren penned the article, titled "How Obama Abandoned Israel," as part of a campaign to promote his new memoir about his service as Israel's ambassador to Washington, between 2009-2013.
He claimed that Obama has forsaken the two key principles in the ties between Israel and the U.S.: avoiding public discord and the commitment on the part of both sides not to surprise each other with policy changes.
In the piece, Oren notes that the only mistake that Netanyahu made on purpose was addressing the U.S. Congress two weeks before the Israeli elections. But he stresses that even this error came in response to mistakes Obama made since entering the White House. According to Oren, the announcements made with regard to settlement construction, including the incident that caused a crisis during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel in 2010, were made by midlevel officials without Netanyahu's knowledge, and caught the prime minister off guard. ...