By Doug Bandow
Telling the truth can be embarrassing. Like when Defense Minister and former prime minister Ehud Barak admitted that the Palestinian conflict was a greater problem than Iran for Israel.
ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak says the conflict with Palestinians poses a greater threat to Israel than Iran’s nuclear program – a significant departure from the view of his Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Barak warned yesterday that unless Israel helped create a Palestinian state, it would end up losing its Jewish character or becoming undemocratic “and we will turn into an apartheid state”.
His comments came as Mr Netanyahu visited Poland to attend an International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Auschwitz death camp, where he was expected to describe Iran’s nuclear program as a modern threat equivalent to the Holocaust.
The major theme of Mr Netanyahu’s speeches since becoming Prime Minister last March has been to list Iran’s nuclear ambitions as the top threat to Israel.
Yet another reason for caution in dealing with Iran. There really are bigger threats in the world today.
Doug Bandow, American Conservative Defense Alliance