In a bizarre and troubling tweet on Tuesday that has been removed, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak criticized the current PM, Benjamin Netanyahu for being ” a messianic dictatorship with nuclear weapons”
“It sounds delusional to us. But in conversations between Israelis and Western political officials, they express deep concern about the possibility that if the regime coup [the judicial reform effort] succeeds in Israel, a messianic dictatorship with nuclear weapons will be established in the heart of the Middle East whose zealots wish for a confrontation with Islam centered on the Temple Mount,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Dimona nuclear research facility, officially called the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, is widely believed to house Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons program.
Israel is estimated to have about 200 nuclear warheads.
Dr, Mordechai Kedar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, was highly critical of Barak’s statements. Dr. Kedar is familiar with national security issues, having served for 25 years in IDF Military Intelligence and achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
“It is unclear whether he violated any laws or rules of national security,” Dr. Kedar said to Israel365 News. “Because freedom of speech is a major tenet of Israeli law. However, he did violate the longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity. This is the first time that a high-ranking official made such an explicit statement about Israel’s nuclear program.”
“He should be ousted from every public forum,” Dr. Kedar said. “But the left-wing camp will not allow this to happen.”
Dr. Kedar cited “unnamed sources familiar with the issues”.
“I have no proof but I have been told that Barak is responsible for millions of dollars coming in from outside of Israel to finance the anti-Netanyahu protests,” Dr. Kedar said. “If this is trueThe left-wing politicians who are benefitting from this will protect Barak.”
This comes just a few days after Barak revealed his strategy for a “counter-revolution” to bring down the Netanyahu government at an address to Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a London-based think tank.
