Former Israeli ambassador to the US says the Left refuses to accept the Palestinian aren’t interested in negotiations.
Michael Oren
Thanks to Israel National News Service
Israel’s former ambassador to the United States Dr. Michael Oren addressed the Saban Forum Saturday on the topic of the political process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority – and had some damning words for the Israeli Left.
“The Left in Israel has crashed, because it has not yet internalized that the Palestinians are not part of the negotiations, and aren’t interested in being so,” said Oren. “The Palestinians have chosen a different path, the destructive path of delegitimization of Israel.”
“On the other hand, the Right doesn’t yet have the courage to admit that Israel isn’t able to protect its identity and its alliance with the US, while ruling 2.5 million Palestinians,” Oren continued.
“Inaction isn’t an option. Israel needs to take its fate into its own hands, and to come out with a political initiative that will serve its interests,” he insisted.
Also speaking at the forum on Saturday was former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who commented on the tensions between Jerusalem and the current White House administration.
“The relationship between the US and Israel is stable and will continue to be so,” she said. “It is silly to think that there won’t be disagreements between leaders, but what is important is the institutional support of the US for Israel, without any connection to the leadership.”
Regarding Iran’s nuclear program, Clinton said she agreed with Israel’s position that no deal was better than a bad one.
Another speaker at this year’s Saban forum was Israel’s Labor party leader Yitzhak Herzog, who stated his confidence that he would replace Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister following elections in March 2015.
Speaking Friday night, Herzog expressed his intention to form a pact with other left-wing parties. “I intend to win the next elections and to form the next government. I offer a genuine alternative to Netanyahu,” he declared.
Jewish Home party leader and Economics Minister Naftali Bennett is also due to address the forum.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was forced to cancel his attendance after his mother passed away.
Michael Oren
