By DPA,
Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the appointment of Michael Oren as the country’s new ambassador to the US, the premier’s office announced Monday.
Oren, the preferred candidate of Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, will replace Sallai Meridor, who asked to be relieved of his duties.
A US-born historian, Oren is a senior fellow at the Shalem Centre, a Jerusalem think tank, and is currently a guest lecturer at Georgetown University. He is the author of “Six Days of War”, an account of the 1967 Middle East War, and “Power, Faith and Fantasy”, a history of US involvement in the Middle East.
Oren, born in 1955, was educated at Princeton University, and immigrated to Israel in the 1970s. In addition to his books, he has frequently commented on the Middle East for international media outlets.
He recently caused a storm in Israel by reportedly speaking out in favour of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, a position Netanyahu does not endorse.