Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and prospective presidential candidate, is slated to discuss the future of U.S.-Israel relations at Tel Aviv University on July 8, according to an announcement on Monday from the school.

Emanuel, who has long held a close connection to the Jewish state, has recently drawn headlines over his calls to immediately end U.S. military aid to Israel, which he had played a key role in securing as a chief of staff to former President Barack Obama from 2009-2010. 

“I’ve been having frank and honest conversations about Israel’s future throughout my public life,” Emanuel, who most recently served as U.S. ambassador to Japan in the Biden administration, said in a statement about the discussion, billed as “An Honest Conversation: The U.S.-Israel Relationship — Where It Stands Today and The Road Ahead.”

“Today, Israel is more militarily secure yet more politically isolated than it’s ever been,” he added. “As friends and allies, we need a candid conversation about where the relationship stands, what’s changed and what’s next. We find ourselves in a pivotal moment in our relationship and in the region. The U.S.-Israel relationship is strongest when it’s honest, and right now it needs a solid dose of honesty.”

The event will be moderated by Yoav Fromer, founding director of Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of the United States, and professor Yael Sternhell, who leads the school’s American studies program.

“We are delighted to host Ambassador Emanuel at Tel Aviv University and discuss both the challenges facing the U.S.-Israel relationship and the opportunities for the United States to play a constructive role in ensuring Israel’s long-term security and prosperity,” Fromer said in a statement. “Tel Aviv University has long been committed to the study, teaching, and research of the United States in order to enhance the special bonds between the two nations and promote wider public understanding of America among Israelis. An honest dialogue with Ambassador Emanuel will undoubtedly advance this important cause.”

Emanuel, a moderate Jewish Democrat who is seeking to challenge party orthodoxies on a range of issues as he positions himself for a potential presidential bid in 2028, has been reluctant to address his personal evolution on Israel in depth.

In a recent interview with Jewish Insider, however, Emanuel indicated that he is now advocating for a fundamental reassessment of the U.S.-Israel alliance, in contrast with more supportive rhetoric he had long espoused.

The United States, he told JI, should continue to stand with Israel only if its efforts in the region help contribute to peace. “Every risk you will take, the State of Israel takes, for peace, then America will stand by you,” he explained. “We understand there’s risks. We have stood by Israel through thick and thin.”

“But when one friend in that relationship abandoned something that’s contrary to our interests and contrary, in my view, also to Israel’s interests,” he added, it is reasonable, he suggested, to rethink that relationship.