(Haaretz).Some call him the new Moshe Arens, others compare him to Benjamin Netanyahu - either way Michael Oren has become one of Israel's most prominent English speakers since being named the new ambassador to the United States this week. While many in the local Anglo community celebrated their fellow immigrant's success, friends and companions reminisced this week about different aspects of the eclectic scholar-turned-diplomat's personality.
Jewish Agency spokesman Michael Jankelowitz met him in the early 1980s, while Oren was working on his Ph.D. at Princeton University. Jankelowitz, who was an emissary for American campus activity at the time, says Oren often addressed large groups of students. "He was extremely popular and quickly became a pied piper," recalls the South African-born Jankelowitz. He points out that while Oren's affiliation with the Shalem Center identifies him with the political right, he once worked for Labor politician Shimon Sheetrit. "Oren is not a political animal," he adds. "He has views, but he is not the hack of any political party, and that's why he'll succeed in Washington."
Oren - who once won a rowing gold medal at the Maccabiah Games and is said to be a keen follower of American baseball - was born in New York. "Michael experienced a great deal of anti-Semitism growing up," said close friend and colleague Yossi Klein Halevi. "There were physical attacks and constant taunting, which was a formative experience for him. Michael understands Jewish vulnerability on a personal level and he understands that Zionism is a gift of empowerment."
Natan Sharansky, a colleague at the Shalem Center says Oren's love of Israel struck him. "In a time when post-Zionism dominates every area of academia, Oren is the last Mohican fighting for our Zionist fantasy,".
This week's appointment is not the first time Israel's Anglo community was touched by the Orens. Many remember the summer of 1995, when a suicide bomber in Jerusalem killed his sister-in-law, Joan Davenny. "Her death hit the Anglos hard, it was a real tragedy for us," a friend of Oren's said. "Back then, the community was in shock. Now they are celebrating. Michael becoming ambassador is a tremendous achievement for all Anglos who come here frightened about what the future may bring. He's one of us who's made it to the top. He gives us pride, encouragement and a stronger sense of why we are Zionists."
