Michael Oren, the former Israeli envoy to the United States, will run in Israel’s upcoming elections.

On Dec. 24, Oren was presented as a candidate for the new political party Kulanu, which is headed by Moshe Kahlon, former communications minister. Oren would help retain good relations with Israel’s allies, said Kahlon, who left Likud in 2013.

Oren said Israel “is at a critical junction.”

“I couldn’t look from the side and do nothing when Israel is under diplomatic attack,” he said.

Oren, a resident of Jerusalem, earlier this year called for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

He resigned as Israeli ambassador to Washington in July 2013. He is now teaching at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center in Israel and writing a book on his four years as ambassador. — jta