Michael Oren for foreign minister

Dear Mr. Kahlon,

Mazal tov on your party’s strong showing in Tuesday’s election.

With coalition talks now under way, you must be feeling an acute need for advice from American biostatisticians such as myself. You may be quite busy, however; so rather than waiting for you to contact me, I’ve decided to take the initiative and reach out to you through my blog.

I’ll be brief. Mr. Netanyahu has already offered you the position of finance minister. My advice is to hold out for an additional key cabinet post: newly elected Kulanu MK Michael Oren as foreign minister.

An audacious request, certainly. But consider:

• Israel’s current diplomatic isolation, and the sad state of its relations with its most important ally, are due in part to not having had an effective foreign minister for years.
• Oren, who has earned acclaim both as a historian of the Middle East and as Israel’s ambassador to the United States, is clearly the person best qualified to repair Israel’s international relations in general and the Israel-U.S. dynamic in particular.
• Without Kulanu, Mr. Netanyahu doesn’t have a majority.

The case is airtight!

Let me conclude by wishing you all the best in the negotiations, and more important, in your new duties. With God’s help, the new government will be much more successful than its predecessor both in the socioeconomic sphere and on the diplomatic front.

Sincerely,

Phil Reiss