Unilateral retreat advocate Oren's gift to Likud - joins Kahlon
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA 25 December 2014

"Oren, meanwhile, has spoken in favor of Israel withdrawing unilaterally
from much of the West Bank"

"Oren ... told The Jerusalem Post they already had started working together
on the party’s diplomatic platform."

Question: How many Likudniks now considering voting for Kahlon support
unilateral retreat?

Question: How many Israelis altogether now considering voting for Kahlon
support unilateral retreat?

A hint: Michel Oren may have spent the summer of 2014 in Washington D.C.
but most of the Israelis voting in a few months spent the summer of 2014
trying to take cover within the "warning window" between the siren sounding
and the missiles landing. Most of these Israelis had a "warning window" of
60 seconds or more. And they know damn well that if Israel unilaterally
retreats from "much of the West Bank" that that time could be shave down to
a fraction of that.

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Michael Oren enters politics with Koolanu
By GIL HOFFMAN, NIV ELIS - The Jerusalem Post 12/24/2014 17:47
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Michael-Oren-enters-politics-with-Koolanu-385632

New Koolanu party leader Moshe Kahlon unveiled his first candidate for the
March 17 election on Wednesday – former ambassador to the US Michael Oren.

At a press conference at Tel Aviv’s ZOA house, Kahlon presented Oren as the
right man to fix Israel’s image problems and deteriorating relationship with
key allies.

“Unfortunately, allies of Israel are distancing themselves and our relations
aren’t what they were in the past,” Kahlon said. “Michael Oren is the right
person to handle this responsibility. He proved that, even when there are
disagreements, he can maintain close ties. Michael is the best in his
field.”

Oren, whose family attended the press conference, said he was emotional
about entering politics and thanked Kahlon for the opportunity.

“Israel is at a critical junction,” Oren said. “I couldn’t look from the
side and do nothing when Israel is under diplomatic attack.”

Both Kahlon and Oren spoke about how Israel’s diplomatic and socioeconomic
challenges are intertwined.

“If Israel can handle its internal problems, it will be stronger
diplomatically, and being strong externally will help Israel be strong
internally,” Oren said.

Oren called Kahlon “a true leader” and a partner for his political path.
After the press conference, he told The Jerusalem Post they already had
started working together on the party’s diplomatic platform.

Kahlon and Oren, in the past, have expressed different views on diplomatic
issues: Kahlon fiercely opposed withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and once
supported annexing much of the West Bank, but lately he has expressed
support for territorial concessions.

Oren, meanwhile, has spoken in favor of Israel withdrawing unilaterally from
much of the West Bank and criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for
not being bold enough on diplomatic issues.

An upstate New York native, Oren was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. An
expert on US-Israel relations, he is the author of the best-selling book
Power, Faith and Fantasy; Six Days of War: June 1967; and The Making of the
Modern Middle East.

Following an academic career, he served as ambassador in Washington for four
years. Koolanu will announce another candidate, socioeconomic expert Eli
Alaloof, on Thursday morning in Beersheba.

Like Oren, Alaloof is a former Netanyahu appointee.

Earlier in the day, Kahlon argued that the central issue in the campaign
would be about the economy and giving working people dignity.

“The coming election will not be about the Right and Left,” he said at a
conference in Tel Aviv hosted by the Calcalist financial newspaper.

“The coming elections are about closing gaps, about providing equal
opportunities, about leadership, vision and the courage to create necessary
and needed changes.”

A big problem that plagued the economy was market concentration, he said.

The economy, he said, “is a sick economy, and its disease has a name. The
root of the problem is concentration.

It’s monopolies. It’s a country that has become a country of monopolies,
cartels, and oligopolies.”

The cure, he offered, required introducing competition.

Kahlon said that his approach was true for the cellular market, where
reforms he led as communications minister led to dramatic price drops, as
well as for also for banking, housing and gas. The latter reference appeared
to offer backing to Antitrust Commissioner David Gilo, who on Tuesday took a
step toward declaring Noble Energy and Delek Group a cartel in Israel’s
natural gas market.