Last night Michael Oren, a New York Times best-selling author and the CBS Middle East expert, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in the Shotel Dubin Auditorium at Hillel's Steinhardt Hall.
In a talk sponsored by Penn Hillel, Oren described four existential crises Israel presently faces to a crowd of both students and local residents alike.
Despite their diversity, many audience members came to the event for similar reasons.
Philadelphia resident Danielle Watts said she went to the event to learn more about the situation in Israel.
Likewise, College sophomore Michael Rutenberg-Schoenberg said he is interested in Israel-related issues and had heard from friends that Oren is a good speaker.
Oren began his talk by putting Israel's unique struggle in context.
"It is rare for a nation to ever face complete destruction," he said, "but the state of Israel faces multiple existential threats on a daily basis." He highlighted terrorism, a nuclearized Iran, environmental threats and moral corruption as four of the primary crises facing Israel.
He noted that in 2000, an increase in suicide bombings severely damaged Israel's tourism industry.
"Iran is a primary sponsor of terror against Israel and persistently vows to wipe Israel off the map," he said, adding that "once Iran obtains a nuclear rocket, they will fire it at Israel."
He also described the environmental problems Israel faces - the country's arid location, water needs that are increasing at 4 percent each year and aquifers that are filled with salt water.
Lastly, Oren briefly described the moral threat facing Israel, which he attributed to an eroding code of ethics within Israel's leadership.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Oren's tone was upbeat and positive. He noted that Israel has been able to dramatically reduce the number of suicide bombings and that the country will continue to defeat the tactics of terrorists before they become an existential threat.
He said he believes Israel will find a way to prevent Iran from becoming fully nuclearized.
He also said Israel will not succumb to a lack of water since the country is building a large water filtration plant and currently leads the world in the amount of water recycled.
He expressed similar optimism about ethics by citing how politicians in Israel have made ethics reform a primary issue in recent election platforms.
Oren closed by expressing optimism that "Israel will not only survive but thrive" in the face of any threat.
