The United States’ support for Israel was considered, to use a phrase of former President Biden, ironclad. But that has been thrown into question by the US administration’s historic decision to suspend a delivery of weapons to Israel in order to pressure it not to wage a major offensive against Hamas in Rafah. The announcement sounded alarm bells about the nature of the US-Israel alliance. About Israel’s strategic dependence on Washington and what Israel needs to do to maintain its military independence.

Michael Oren was Israel’s ambassador to Washington in 2009-2013, before a stint in the Knesset as a deputy minister in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. He is an acclaimed historian, and author of New York Times bestselling books about the history of America’s involvement in the Middle East and the Six-Day War. As an American-born Israeli, he straddles both worlds looking to find productive ways to move the alliance ever forward.

This episode was recorded before the Biden Administration’s bombshell announcement, but that only makes our discussion more timely.