michael oren

Michelle Alexander speaks at the Miller Center Forum, December 3, 2010. (Miller Center/CC BY 2.0)

For Michelle Alexander’s critics, Palestinians don’t deserve civil rights

The uproar by Jewish establishment figures over Alexander’s New York Times essay in support of Palestinian rights echoes the reactions of white Americans to the Civil Rights Movement decades ago. Michelle Alexander’s powerful New York Times essay on Saturday (“Time to Break the Silence on Palestine”), ahead of the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was…

By Amjad Iraqi January 23, 2019

Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian man following a house raid in the West Bank city of Hebron September 20, 2016. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Military dictatorship requires dehumanization

A top military official dubiously declares that a Palestinian teen shot in the head by Israeli soldiers actually just had a bicycle accident. Welcome to a new era of Palestinian dehumanization. The evidence was there for all to see. Anyone who wanted to know why 15-year-old Mohammed Tamimi, Ahed Tamimi’s cousin, has only two-thirds of…

By Edo Konrad February 28, 2018

Alleged Ambassador Michael Oren expresses cynicism about something-or-other at the Knesset, June 27, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Is Michael Oren a ‘real’ person?

The alleged former ambassador has made numerous statements and claims recently that cast serious doubts on the veracity of his existence as a real person – most recently, news that he initiated a parliamentary inquiry into whether Ahed Tamimi’s family is ‘real.’ (Satire) For the past two years, +972 Magazine has been conducting a secret…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 24, 2018

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Siam Nuwara, the father of Nadeem Siam Nuwara, mourns over his son before his funeral procession in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 16, 2014. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

‘There is no justice in Israel — it’s always postponed’

The Nawara family expected to hear the sentence of the Israeli soldier who killed their son, Nadeem. Instead, they were forced to sit quietly while the soldier’s lawyer argued that it was not his client but Nadeem who was guilty of a crime. The hearing began poorly. Siam Nawara was on the stand, testifying in what was supposed…

By Joshua Leifer January 10, 2018

Siam Nuwara, the father of Nadeem Siam Nuwara, mourns over his son before his funeral procession in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 16, 2014. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Even forensics can’t stop Palestinian teen’s killer walking free

Nadeem Nuwara and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh Abu Daher were shot dead by Israeli Border Police officers during a 2014 protest. Forensic evidence didn’t stop the Israeli authorities from failing to adequately prosecute the killings. By Brad Parker On Sunday, May 28, I spent the morning with Siam Nawara, the father of a 17-year-old Palestinian boy shot…

By +972 Magazine June 4, 2017

A pro-Israel rally, Washington D.C, July 18, 2014 (photo: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Overcoming Jewish America’s Israel fantasy

The idea of Israel has long been an integral part of Jewish-American identity. But with a generational change among American Jews and increasingly stark political differences with Israel’s leadership, could this be the dawn of a new era? Last summer Michael Oren, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009-13, blithely offended virtually…

By Lisa Goldman December 31, 2015

A mural portraying Jesus is painted on the Israeli separation wall dividing the West Bank town of Bethlehem, July 28, 2010. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

No, Jesus would not be a settler — he’d practice solidarity

Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren says Jesus would be considered a settler if he lived in Bethlehem today. Such talk obscures the nature of the settlement enterprise and slanders Jesus. Text and photos by Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren has been saying a lot of obnoxious things lately. His…

By Activestills July 27, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to then Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, Tel Aviv, April 9, 2013. (State Dept photo)

Michael Oren’s diplomatic psychobabble

Does the former Israeli ambassador really think that an imaginative psychoanalysis of Obama can explain away Netanyahu’s annexationist policies? By Aviad Kleinberg Michael Oren blames President Barack Obama for ruining relations with Israel, after the latter broke two sacrosanct rules that Oren himself came up with: that the United States and Israel should not have public disagreements, and…

By +972 Magazine June 25, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to then Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, Tel Aviv, April 9, 2013. (State Dept photo)

Why Michael Oren’s diplomatic plan doesn’t hold water

The esteemed historian, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and CNN commentator is now back in Israel running for public office, and he has a plan. The problem is it doesn’t align with the facts. By Shemuel Meir It turns out that “spin” isn’t exclusively in the Israel’s prime minister’s domain. Michael Oren, Israel’s former…

By +972 Magazine January 14, 2015

'The Scream', by Edvard Munch

Linguistic terrorism: Somebody buy Israeli politicians a dictionary

A top-six list of the various ways Israeli officials have reinvented definitions — and types — of terrorism. Likud MK Miri Regev had a fairly successful career as a wordsmith back when she was the IDF Spokesperson — before becoming even better known for calling African asylum seekers “a cancer in Israel’s body.” She later apologized to…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man June 26, 2014

Israeli walks with flag during Tel Aviv gay pride (photo: wanderlasss/Flickr cc)

Upcoming amendment will test Israeli gov’t regard for LGBT rights

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren recently boasted about Israel’s record on gay rights – however the LGBT community in Jerusalem has faced repeated intolerance and push back from the government. A proposal to be presented this Sunday to extend protection from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation will be the real test of…

By +972 Magazine May 18, 2012

Ambassador Oren boasts Israel’s record on gay rights – but gets facts wrong

Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren claims “Israel fought for gay rights even before 1967.” Problem is, homosexuality was illegal until 1988. Michael Oren, the American Jew turned Israeli ambassador to the US, is apparently not content with embarrassing himself about Israel’s record regarding its Christian citizens. In an interview with the Philadelphia newspaper…

By Yossi Gurvitz May 7, 2012

Monks in Jerusalem. They are often spat at by yeshiva boys. (Photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Palestinian Christians do not tolerate life under occupation

Ambassador Michael Oren insists that in all the Middle East, Christians have it the best in Israel, but a history of dispossession paints a more complex picture. The writer asserts Palestinian Christians are emigrating due to Israel’s discriminatory policies, and calls attention to upcoming resolutions by churches in the United States to divest from Israeli…

By +972 Magazine May 1, 2012