NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠Includes a new afterword about the Iran nuclear agreement, the 2016 presidential race, and the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance
Michael B. Orenâs memoir of his time as Israelâs ambassador to the United Statesâa period of transformative change for America and a time of violent upheaval throughout the Middle Eastâprovides a frank, fascinating look inside the special relationship between America and its closest ally in the region.
Michael Oren served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013. An American by birth and a historian by training, Oren arrived at his diplomatic post just as Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton assumed office. During Orenâs tenure in office, Israel and America grappled with the Palestinian peace process, the Arab Spring, and existential threats to Israel posed by international terrorism and the Iranian nuclear program. Forged in the Truman administration, Americaâs alliance with Israel was subjected to enormous strains, and its future was questioned by commentators in both countries. On more than one occasion, the friendshipâs very fabric seemed close to unraveling.
Ally is the story of that enduring allianceâand of its dividesâwritten from the perspective of a man who treasures his American identity while proudly serving the Jewish State he has come to call home. No one could have been better suited to strengthen bridges between the United States and Israel than Michael Orenâa man equally at home jumping out of a plane as an Israeli paratrooper and discussing Middle East history on TVâs Sunday morning political shows. In the pages of this fast-paced book, Oren interweaves the story of his personal journey with behind-the-scenes accounts of fateful meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, high-stakes summits with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and diplomatic crises that intensified the controversy surrounding the worldâs most contested strip of land.
A quintessentially American story of a young man who refused to relinquish a dreamâirrespective of the obstaclesâand an inherently Israeli story about assuming onerous responsibilities, Ally is at once a record, a chronicle, and a confession. And it is a story about loveâabout someone fortunate enough to love two countries and to represent one to the other. But, above all, this memoir is a testament to an alliance that was and will remain vital for Americans, Israelis, and the world.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠Includes a new afterword about the Iran nuclear agreement, the 2016 presidential race, and the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance
Michael B. Orenâs memoir of his time as Israelâs ambassador to the United Statesâa period of transformative change for America and a time of violent upheaval throughout the Middle Eastâprovides a frank, fascinating look inside the special relationship between America and its closest ally in the region.
Michael Oren served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013. An American by birth and a historian by training, Oren arrived at his diplomatic post just as Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton assumed office. During Orenâs tenure in office, Israel and America grappled with the Palestinian peace process, the Arab Spring, and existential threats to Israel posed by international terrorism and the Iranian nuclear program. Forged in the Truman administration, Americaâs alliance with Israel was subjected to enormous strains, and its future was questioned by commentators in both countries. On more than one occasion, the friendshipâs very fabric seemed close to unraveling.
Ally is the story of that enduring allianceâand of its dividesâwritten from the perspective of a man who treasures his American identity while proudly serving the Jewish State he has come to call home. No one could have been better suited to strengthen bridges between the United States and Israel than Michael Orenâa man equally at home jumping out of a plane as an Israeli paratrooper and discussing Middle East history on TVâs Sunday morning political shows. In the pages of this fast-paced book, Oren interweaves the story of his personal journey with behind-the-scenes accounts of fateful meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, high-stakes summits with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and diplomatic crises that intensified the controversy surrounding the worldâs most contested strip of land.
A quintessentially American story of a young man who refused to relinquish a dreamâirrespective of the obstaclesâand an inherently Israeli story about assuming onerous responsibilities, Ally is at once a record, a chronicle, and a confession. And it is a story about loveâabout someone fortunate enough to love two countries and to represent one to the other. But, above all, this memoir is a testament to an alliance that was and will remain vital for Americans, Israelis, and the world.