Jerusalem’s Anglo community is rife with rumors that Michael Oren, a senior research fellow at Jerusalem’s Shalem Center, will be named Israel’s next Ambassador to the United States.

Taken together with the Prime Minister’s recent announcement that Natan Sharansky is his candidate to head JAFI, it appears this conservative oriented think-tank is poised for great influence in the current government. The Shalem Center is home to the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies – established and funded by a $4.5 million initial gift from Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson, who also owns an Israeli daily newspaper, has heavily supported every position of the current Prime Minister since the papers establishment. With two significant personalities poised to depart Shalem, including the Chair of the Adelson Institute, one assumes this American business titan and philanthropist’s views are being heard in the highest reaches of Israel’s government. Perhaps he should be the featured speaker at next month’s AIPAC gathering in Washington.