Only days before the U.S. re-inaugurates Obama for a second 4-year term, and a week before Israelis vote to elect a government to replace the ruling one Benjamin Netanyahu formed in 2009, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren appeared before a packed L.A. theater house to shore-up core support for the bilateral relationship between America and her greatest Mid-East ally, Israel. Pres. Barack Obama has been criticized for meddling to damage Netanyahu's Likud Beitenu party re-election.
Over the course of his term, for U.S. government leadership roles which deal with Islamism and Zionism, Pres. Barack Obama has nominated candidates with strong pro-Islam, pro-Palestine, (and, in some cases, anti-Zionist) worldviews- starting in 2009 with Chas Freeman (not approved) and Samantha Power (approved). The issue has been revived with Congressional opposition to Obama's nomination of U.N. Amb. Susan Rice for Secretary of State recently. The Obama Administration has endeavored to scapegoat supporters of Israel as a disloyal, fifth-column impediment to the approval of his philo-Muslim, cabinet nominees- Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense, John Brennan for Director of the C.I.A., and Sen. John Kerry for Secretary of State.
While Obama's Administration works to demonize those who support Israel, Amb. Michael Oren (who has taught history at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown Universities) appeared in Los Angeles to boost the morale and dedication for support for Israel. In his 3rd year of making history as Israel's U.S.-based, chief diplomat, the 1979- American-emigrant to Israel reminded the Saban Theater audience about the long-standing commonalities between America's founding fathers and the re-establishment of Jewish Israel, their respective countries' biblical guiding principals, and their common dedication to freedom and democracy. In this half-hour talk, video-chronicled by DemoCast, Amb. Oren addresses the historic reciprocal support among Americans and Israelis.
Mr. Richard Sandler, chairman of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, who along with the Israeli Consulate to the Southwestern U.S., co- sponsored the event, introduces Amb. Oren to a standing ovation from the Saban Theater audience.
Amb. Oren talks about the history of Zionism in the establishment of America - and America's contribution to the establishment of Israel. Amb. Oren also reminds the audience of Israel's affinities for America- as the only country in the Middle East with statue memorials to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the victims of September 11, 2001 attacks.
Amb. Oren followed his speech with this revealing, wide-ranging interview with TV journalist and anchorman of Good Day L.A., Steve Edwards, of Channel 11- KTTV.
Here is a cameraphone video of the West Point Choir joining the IDF Choir in singing the Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah ("The Hope") which Amb. Oren referenced in his remarks.
The Israeli newspaper, Makor Rishon, has reported that Amb. Oren has requested to end his tenure in the spring of 2013, when he will have completed 4-years. The newspaper reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors his political adviser, Ron Dermer, to succeed Michael Oren in the U.S. Mr. Dermer co-authored the book, “The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror’’ along with former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician Natan Sharansky.
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