Not To Brag....

But Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog and Kulanu MK/former U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren have both taken pretty much the same line I did last week in linking Israel's settlement policy to getting a better Iran deal.

Michael Oren, a lawmaker with the center-right Kulanu party and Israel’s former ambassador to the United States, said a day after Obama’s remarks on Israeli television — that Israel should freeze settlement building outside settlement blocs near the West Bank border. He also called on Israel to more actively demonstrate its desire for peace.

“The ball is in our court,” Oren, whose party is part of Israel’s governing coalition, said at a meeting Wednesday of the Knesset Caucus for Israel-U.S. Relations. “We must show we favor peace even in the absence of a Palestinian partner. We must show that we’re at the table even when the opposite seat is empty, and that we’ll work actively toward a permanent agreement.”

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Zionist Union, told Israel’s Army Radio that a friendlier posture toward the United States would also help Israel combat Iran’s nuclear program.

“The Iranian issue is a major national challenge, but in order to fight it, to ensure Israel’s standing among the nations … we need to speak with the administration and conduct intimate dialogue. Not humiliate it,” Herzog said Wednesday, according to the Times of Israel.

Incidentally, I have to say I've been pleased with the notes Oren has hit since switching to politics. He certainly seems well aware of how immensely dangerous it is for Israel if in American politics it is perceived as a conservative issue. And to my eyes he joins a long line of conservative Israeli politicians who, after spending some time in government, have realized that the current path is unsustainable.