Michael Oren Blasts Biden-Harris over Israel Arms Embargo Threat: ‘I Cannot Keep Silent’

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren blasted the Biden-Harris administration Tuesday after news emerged that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had threatened an arms embargo against Israel over Gaza.

As Breitbart News reported, Austin wrote a letter to his Israeli counterpart that was leaked to the media and which included a threat to cut off weapons to Israel unless the humanitarian situation in Gaza improved substantially.

The letter claimed, without evidence, that Israel has been blocking aid and that the situation had deteriorated. It also effectively demanded that Israel end its fight against Hamas in northern Gaza. (It made no demands of Hamas at all.)

Oren, who was the ambassador during the administration of President Barack Obama, and later accused Obama of creating a gap between the U.S. and Israel, has tried to maintain a bipartisan stance and stay out of U.S. politics.

But in the face of a threatened arms embargo, with Israel still under attack, Oren said he could no longer be silent:

The Biden Administration’s warning to suspend arms to Israel unless the “humanitarian situation” in Gaza improves is deeply disturbing. Israel strongly denies that any crisis exists and works daily to ensure a fully adequate food supply to Gaza. Though I’ve spent my career striving for bipartisanship, at this fateful time, I cannot keep silent. The administration’s willingness to abandon Israel in the middle of a war for our nation’s survival casts doubts on America’s dependability as an ally and its commitment to defend the Free World.

Oren stopped short of suggesting that Americans vote for former President Donald Trump, but Vice President Kamala Harris has suggested an openness to an arms embargo against Israel.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.