Avishai Ben Haim says Ehud Barak's remarks amount to dangerous incitement

Dr. Avishai Ben Haim responded sharply on Sunday evening to former prime minister Ehud Barak’s call to remove Benjamin Netanyahu if he tries to sabotage elections, saying the remarks amounted to “incitement at a level that is hard to believe.” He said Barak’s language, including the idea of expelling Netanyahu “with sticks and stones,” was the kind of public incitement not heard in Israel since before the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Ben Haim said such rhetoric from a senior public figure was especially alarming because it echoed the atmosphere that preceded Rabin’s murder. He stressed that, unlike the accusations directed at Netanyahu, “we have never heard Netanyahu say anything like this,” adding that the prime minister has acted in a statesmanlike way and with “class.”

He also spoke personally about his reaction to Barak’s comments. Ben Haim said older Israelis, including people on the right, “really loved Ehud Barak” and saw him as a “hero.” He concluded, “We loved him the way he hates us. That is why it hurts.”