Barak Blasts Leaders for Downplaying Iran Threat
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday harshly condemned former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin for downplaying the threat from Iran, saying the three are serving Tehran.
In an interview with Yisrael Hayom newspaper, Barak denounced Olmert, Dagan, and Diskin’s continued criticisms of him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian issue.
Barak said that the “Olmert gang is traveling around the world and speaking in a way that is serving Iran.”
Olmert responded to Barak’s criticism later on Thursday, saying that the defense minister will surely disappear from politics soon.
“The fact is that a former prime minister and three heads of Israeli security bodies – that have over the years dealt with the most sensitive matters regarding Israel’s security – are positive that Barak, who will surely soon disappear from the Israeli political map, is leaving behind him great damages that harm the state’s security and every Israeli citizen must be alarmed,” a statement from Olmert’s office read. In the interview, Barak denounced the former prime minister and the former defense chiefs for weakening the Israeli resolve on Iran.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
