Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, now a deputy minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, sat down recently for an interview for The Daily Caller senior writer Jamie Weinstein’s podcast.
Among the many topics they discussed over the course of nearly an hour was the state of the 2016 presidential election and its implications for Israel. Oren, well-known for his candor, gave an honest analysis, including concerns he had with both major-party candidates.
Asked about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who he has previously criticized for his proposal to temporarily ban Muslim immigration to the U.S., Oren said, “I don’t know what his policies are. And when I go on the Israeli media, I have to say the three words that no political figure ever wants to say—certainly not in front of a live audience—I have to say, ‘I don’t know.'”
With regard to Trump’s Democratic counterpart, he said, “Hilary Clinton may have a different worldview, but in Israel we cannot overlook the fact that she is a Democrat. She defines herself as a progressive—she has defined herself as a progressive in these elections and being a progressive in American politics today carries with it certain assumptions about America’s relationship with Israel.”
Oren was equally critical of the man they both aim to replace, President Barack Obama. He said, under the Obama Administration, the U.S.’s lack of engagement has left the Middle East a “dark and dangerous place.”
“I think I speak not just for most Israelis, but most people in this area—if not beyond it—in this region, is that we miss America. We miss American leadership,” he said. “If you want to know what the Middle East looks like without America in it, you could drive about two and a half hours from where we’re sitting here—north—you’ll be in the middle of the Syrian civil war. That’s what the Middle East looks like without America.”
