Photo by Anne Mandelbaum

Biography

Ambassador Oren has written extensively for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The New Republic, where he was a contributing editor. His two most recent books, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East and Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present, were both New York Times bestsellers. They won the Los Angeles Times' History Book of the Year prize, a National Council of the Humanities Award, and the National Jewish Book Award.

Raised in New Jersey, where he was an activist in Zionist youth movements and a gold medal winning athlete in the Maccabiah Games, Ambassador Oren moved to Israel in the 1970s. He served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, in the paratroopers in the Lebanon War, a liaison with the U.S. Sixth Fleet during the Gulf War, and an IDF spokesman during the Second Lebanon War and the Gaza operation in January 2009. He acted as an Israeli Emissary to Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union, as an advisor to Israel's delegation to the United Nations, and as the government's director of Inter-Religious Affairs.

Ambassador Oren and his wife, Sally, have three children.

RECENT MEDIA ACTIVITES

Ambassador Oren on Facebook and on Twitter.

Op-Eds:

• What Happened to Israel's Reputation?, Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2012
• Israel's Resilient Democracy, Foreign Policy, April 5, 2012
• Invest in Iron Dome for Peace, Politico, March 18, 2012
• Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians, Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2012
• Israel Does Not Stand Alone, Washington Post, October 13, 2011
• Israel Offers Peace--Again, Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2011
• Israel Felt Pain of 9/11 Terror Attacks, Forward, September 9, 2011
• Israeli Summer is no Arab Spring, USA Today, August 16, 2011
• The Lessons of the Second Lebanon War, Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2011
• Remembering Six Days in 1967, Foreign Policy, June 6, 2011
• Entebbe and bin Laden raids underscore U.S.-Israel alliance, Various (JTA), May 2011
• Middle East peace: The Wrong Pact, Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2011
• The Ultimate Ally, Foreign Policy, May/June 2011
• What if Gadhafi Had Gone Nuclear?, Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2011
• Will Egypt Be a Partner in Peace?, New York TImes, February 20, 2011
• Direct talks needed for Middle East peace, USA Today, January 20, 2011
• Illuminating the possibilities, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2010
• A 63-year search for Mideast peace, Atlanta Journal-Constituion, November 28, 2010
• An End to Israel's Invisibility, New York Times, October 14, 2010
• Why Israelis care about peace, Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2010
• Reason for optimism in Mideast talks, Various (The McClatchy Company), August 31, 2010
• Naysayers Are Not Always Right, Newsweek, August 28, 2010
• At the crossroads to peace and war in the Middle East, Washington Post, August 6, 2010
• U.S., Israel united in common cause: Peace and security in the Middle East, The Hill, June 30, 2010
• Gilad Shalit: Hostage of Hamas, Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2010
• An Assault, Cloaked in Peace, New York Times, June 2, 2010
• For Israel and America, a Disagreement, Not a Crisis, New York Times, March 17, 2010
• On the International Day of Holocaust Commemoration, Continue to Fight Anti-Semitism, The Huffington Post, January 26, 2010
• Israel's Settlement Freeze, Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2009
• Deep Denial, Why the Holocaust Still Matters, The New Republic, October 6, 2009
• UN report a victory for terror, Boston Globe, September 24, 2009
• West Bank Success Story, Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2009

Speeches and Remarks:

Israel: A Pioneer in LGBT Rights
Remarks by Ambassador Michael B. Oren to the The Equality Forum, May 5, 2012

One Jewish People, One Jewish Reality
Remarks at the AJC Access and JCPA Plenum Conferences, May 4 & 6, 2012

Why Does Israel Have So Many Words for Freedom?
Remarks at the Embassy's Independence Day Celebration, May 1, 2012

Remarks on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day
April 19, 2012

King Legacy is Part of Israel's Legacy
Remarks on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 15, 2012

The New Greatest Generation
Commencement Address to Monmouth University, January 13, 2012

The Potentially Limitless Sky: My Struggle with Learning Disabilities
Remarks on receiving the Lab School Award, November 9, 2011

Israel: Our Source of Certainty
Remarks on High Holidays 5772, September/October 2011

Remarks at the Iftar Reception at the Ambassador's Residence
August 25, 2011

Remarks to Mark U.S. Independence Day
July 4, 2011

Remarks at Embassy of Israel's Independence Day Reception
May 12, 2011

Remarks on Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Rememberance Day
May 2, 2011

BDS: A Threat to Israel, to Jews, and to Democracy
Remarks to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, January 17, 2011

New Year's Wishes from Ambassador Michael Oren
December 29, 2010

Happy Holidays from Ambassador Michael Oren (Video)
December 23, 2010

Thanking Israel's Global Family
Expressing gratitude to those who supported Israel during the Mt. Carmel fire, December 7, 2010

Statement by Ambassador Michael Oren on the Mt. Carmel fire
December 3, 2010

Israel & American Jewry: What Can We Expect From One Another
Remarks at The Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly, November 8, 2010

My First Role Model
Ambassador Oren Remembers Yitzhak Rabin, October 20, 2010

Israel: America's 20th Largest Customer
Remarks to the Chamber of Commerce Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement, October 19, 2010

United in Our Rememberance, Strengthened by Our Bonds
Remarks at the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial Luncheon, October 3, 2010

Jonah, the Paradox of Prophecy & the Challenges of Israeli Decision Making
Yom Kippur Address, September 17 and 18, 2010

Reconciling Zionism, Jewish Peoplehood & Tikun Olam
Rosh Hashanah Address, September 9 and 10, 2010

Assuming the Mantle of Answers
Commencement Address to Yeshiva University, May 26, 2010

Dream, Serve & Jump
Commencement Address to Brandeis University, May 23, 2010

The Liberators & the Liberated: The Covenant Lives On
Remarks at the Days of Remembrance Ceremony, April 15, 2010

Israel & American Jewry: Between Civility & Responsibility
Remarks to the JCPA Plenum, February 21, 2010

Einstein, Jewish Faith & the Speed of Light
Remarks to Temple Emanuel, February 12, 2010

Interviews and other media:

• Video: Interview with Fox News' Bret Baier on Iran Nuclear Threat (April 12, 2012)
• Audio: NPR: Israeli Ambassador Weighs In On Netanyahu Visit (March 7, 2012)
• Video: Interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on PM Netanyahu's Visit (March 7, 2012)
• Video: Interview with CNN's John King on Iran's Nuclear Efforts (March 7, 2012)

• Videos: Christian Science Monitor Breakfast: Gilad Shalit Release, Arab Spring, Peace Process (October 25, 2011)
  
  Gilad Shalit Release and Agreement
• Video: Interview with CNN's Kyra Phillips on Gilad Shalit Release (October 18, 2011)
• Video: Interview with CBN's Erick Stackelbeck on GIlad Shalit Release (October 18, 2011)
• Audio: Interview on NPR All Things Considered on Gilad Shalit Release (October 18, 2011)
• Audio: Interview on Michael Medved Talk Show (October 18, 2011)
• Story: Oren: Hamas Prisoner Trade was a One Shot Deal; Foreign Policy: The Cable (October 18, 2011)
• Story: Israeli: Shalit Deal Shows Government Could Make a Peace Deal; Politico (October 17, 2011)
• Video: Interview with Wolf Blitzer on Gilad Shalit Agreement & Iranian Terror Plot, (October 12, 2011)
  Wolf Blitzer Transcript (October 12, 2011)
  
  2011 United Nations General Assembly
• Video: Interview with Candy Crowley on Israel's Quest for Peace, CNN (September 18, 2011)
• Audio: Interview with Audie Cornish on Palestinian Efforts in the UN, NPR Weekend Edition (September 18, 2011)
• Video: Interview with Wolf Blitzer on Palestinian Efforts in the UNGA, CNN (September 16, 2011)
• Audio: Interview with Lisa Mullins on Israel's View of the Arab Spring and the UNGA, PRI's The World (September 16, 2011)
  
  
• Video: Interview with John King on Terror Attacks and Israel's Response, CNN (August 18, 2011)
• Audio: Discussion with Robert Siegel on Attacks on Israelis Near Egypt, NPR (August 18, 2011)
• Letter: Israel Wants Syria To Be a Democracy, Wall Street Journal (July 28, 2011)
• Transcript: Ambassador Michael Oren, on the state of the Middle East today (July 11, 2011)
• Video: Israeli Ambassador Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Israel (June 22, 2011)
• Letter: Israel Prefers the End Of the Assad Regime To Its Continuance, Wall Street Journal (June 6, 2011)
• Video: Interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC (March 9, 2011)
• Audio: Interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt (December 21, 2010)
• Video: Middle East peace talks at risk? (November 9, 2010)
• Video: Will peace talks collapse? (September 28, 2010)
• A Q&A With Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren (September 28, 2010)
• Video: Encouraging signs from peace talks? (September 3, 2010)
• Audio: Interview with KMOX Radio's John Carney
• Video: Aspen Ideas Festival 2010 – In Conversation with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg (July 2, 2010)
• Video: Ambassador Oren to Fox News: ‘We Greatly Appreciate Bipartisan Support in this Country’ (June 2, 2010)
• Video: CNN's Rick Sanchez Talks to Ambassador Oren on the Flotilla Incident (May 31, 2010)