Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States
Israel is under fire from friends and foes alike after a raid on a flotilla of Turkish ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza led to the deaths of nine people — including a 19-year-old American man. The diplomatic fallout continues this morning as Turkey, which up until this week has been Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world, has warned that it may reduce economic and defense ties with Israel as a result of the raid. Meanwhile, the MV Rachel Corrie, another Irish ship full of pro-Palestinian activists, has set sail for Gaza, carrying Nobel Prize laureate Mairead McGuire, among others.
Israel is on the defense, and these developments beg the question, how will Israel respond after near universal criticism from the international community after this week’s incident?
The answer to that question is especially important to Israel’s closest ally, the United States, which already has strained relations with the Jewish state under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For the perspective from the Israeli side, The Takeaway speaks to the man charged with handling that important relationship with the U.S., Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.
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