Former Israeli Leaders Accused of Escalating Rhetoric as Elections Near

An opinion segment on Channel 14 argued that former prime ministers and defense ministers Ehud Barak and Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon have become more extreme as elections approach. The piece said that rather than reconsidering why voters rejected them, they are now using harsher language, conspiracy theories, incitement to violence, and comparisons to Nazism to attack the political right.

The article focused first on Barak, saying he once preached democracy and state-minded leadership but now speaks of violently expelling the prime minister and repeats claims that Benjamin Netanyahu could start a war to cancel elections. It criticized interviewer Aryeh Golan for treating those remarks calmly, despite what the writer said should have been a shocking statement from a former prime minister.

Ya’alon was accused of going even further by placing the right-wing camp in the realm of Nazism. The article said his current rhetoric is a personal low point and mocked him as increasingly disconnected from public life.

The writer said this language harms more than political rivals. In their view, it gives ammunition to enemies of Israel, supplies quotes to people working against the country abroad, damages Israel’s image, and hurts soldiers and the national cause. The piece concluded that both men, once seen as national leaders, now devote themselves to demonizing their opponents and will later pretend innocence if violence follows.