Michael Oren

Michael Oren brought the work of a historian to diplomacy. Raised in the United States, he moved to Israel in 1979, served as a paratrooper, and later advised Israel's UN delegation and Yitzhak Rabin. He studied international relations at Columbia and earned graduate degrees at Princeton. His books, including Six Days of War and Power, Faith, and Fantasy, examined Israel's military history and the long American engagement with the Middle East. ^{1, 2}

As ambassador from 2009 to 2013, Oren managed public disputes between the Obama and Netanyahu governments while emphasizing their expanding security cooperation. He also worked on the relationship between Israel and American Jews, encouraging dialogue with the liberal organization J Street and helping to negotiate a proposal for wider women's access at the Western Wall. ³

His historical interests informed preparations for Barack Obama's 2013 visit to Israel. Working with American ambassador Dan Shapiro, Oren proposed a stop at the Dead Sea Scrolls to emphasize the Jewish people's ancient connection to the land. After leaving the embassy, he served in the Knesset and as a deputy minister in the prime minister's office from 2015 to 2019. In 2025, the Wilson Center appointed him its Joseph B. Gildenhorn Fellow, returning him to research on American–Middle Eastern relations. ^{3, 1, 2}