Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide

New York Times bestselling author Michael B Orenrsquos memoir of his time as Israelrsquos ambassador to the United Statesmdasha period of transformative change for America and a time of violent upheaval throughout the Middle Eastmdashprovides a frank fascinating look inside the special relationship between America and its closest ally in the region Michael Oren served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States from to An American by birth and a historian by training Oren arrived at his diplomatic post just as Benjamin Netanyahu Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton assumed office During Orenrsquos tenure in office Israel and America grappled with the Palestinian peace process the Arab Spring and existential threats to Israel posed by international terrorism and the Iranian nuclear program Forged in the Truman administration Americarsquos alliance with Israel was subjected to enormous strains and its future was questioned by commentators in both countries On more than one occasion the friendshiprsquos very fabric seemed close to unraveling Ally is the story of that enduring alliancemdashand of its dividesmdashwritten from the perspective of a man who treasures his American identity while proudly serving the Jewish State he has come to call home No one could have been better suited to strengthen bridges between the United States and Israel than Michael Orenmdasha man equally at home jumping out of a plane as an Israeli paratrooper and discussing Middle East history on TVrsquos Sunday morning political shows In the pages of this fast-paced book Oren interweaves the story of his personal journey with behind-the-scenes accounts of fateful meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu high-stakes summits with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and diplomatic crises that intensified the controversy surrounding the worldrsquos most contested strip of land A quintessentially American story of a young man who refused to relinquish a dreammdashirrespective of the obstaclesmdashand an inherently Israeli story about assuming onerous responsibilities Ally is at once a record a chronicle and a confession And it is a story about lovemdashabout someone fortunate enough to love two countries and to represent one to the other But above all this memoir is a testament to an alliance that was and will remain vital for Americans Israelis and the worldPraise for Ally ldquoMichael Oren is going to be the talk of Washington and Jerusalem Irsquom not sure that in the annals of diplomatic history therersquos ever been anything quite like this astonishing account of Orenrsquos four years as Israelrsquos ambassador in Washington Itrsquos an ultimate insiderrsquos story told while all the players save Oren are still in placerdquomdashNew York Post.