Ron Dermer and Michael Oren Interviews

From a fascinating interview in the Jerusalem Post with Ron Dermer, Benjamin Netanyahu's director of policy planning and one of his closest advisers (and co-author with Natan Sharansky of “The Case for Democracy”), followed by a six-minute video of a Jeffrey Goldberg interview of Michael Oren (Israel's ambassador-designate to the US) on why he moved from the U.S. to Israel and "what this Jewish experience is about."

Once someone said that Netanyahu is surrounded by people who are religious, English speaking and neo-cons, so definitely the only one who might fit all three categories is myself, and I don't know if I am a neo-con.

The Prime Minister is someone who has a great affinity for the US, I think a great love for America. He sees it as the embodiment of certain ideals. The old clichés of carrying the torch of freedom around the world. If you know history, you know it is not a cliché, very real. I think he connects to it.

I think the people who were born and raised in the US and came here, are very different than a lot of the immigrants who came from other countries. Because we were not running away from anything. Those from the US tend to be some of the most idealistic immigrants. Not that the others aren't, but you don't face anti-Semitism in the US. I don't know if you did, but I didn't. I felt at home in the US.

So when you come here you are doing it because you are very idealistic and trying to contribute something and be part of this collective destiny of the Jewish people taking place in Israel.

Two or three years ago was the first time in some 19 centuries that the largest Jewish community in the world was in Israel. Sometimes miracles happen. It is very hard not to see what has happened in the State of Israel, to turn a blind eye to it. When the state was established, five percent of the world's Jews lived in Israel. Today, 45 percent of world's Jews live here. It is the single largest Jewish community in the world. So this historical process is happening, and we are in it. We are part of that historical process.