Israeli police have opened an investigation into former Prime Minister Ehud Barak on suspicion of sedition after he called on Israelis to engage in nationwide civil disobedience to oust the government this fall at the height of the war.
Jewish News Syndicate report:
At an anti-government protest rally in Tel Aviv late last month, Barak called on thousands of attendees to engage in “non-violent civil disobedience”.
Once Israeli lawmakers return from their summer/high holiday break on October 28, “the revolt must be expanded to a mass strike around parliament together with opposition leaders until the government falls,” he told the crowd.
Authorities told B’tsalmo, the Israeli human rights group that filed the complaint against Barak, that an investigative file had been prepared with Tel Aviv police.
Barak, a leader of protests against judicial reforms, was also investigated last year.
Israel, deeply divided over judicial reform, came together after the Oct. 7 attacks. But political divisions have begun to surface again, especially as Israelis worry about the fate of hostages remaining in Gaza. Anti-government protesters have quickly seized on allegations of hostage trading, arguing that Netanyahu’s government is unconcerned about the fate of Israeli prisoners.
The former prime minister was the last prime minister of Israel’s Labor Party and is best known for his efforts to secure peace agreements with the Palestinians in 2000 and 2001. The effort failed when Yasser Arafat rejected the agreements, putting into effect the second peace accord. Intifada.
Since then, Barak has become an opposition leader and beloved by Israel’s left-wing critics abroad, though his popularity has tarnished somewhat following the revelation of his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Breitbart News reported last year that “Barak has promised to implement judicial reforms if a new government won elections last November and has openly touted his role in Israel’s left-wing protest movement, which did win. He has also spoken openly about his goal of ousting Netanyahu and forcing new elections in the hopes of a left-wing victory.”
The police are controlled by far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, who serves as national security minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet.
Asked about the investigation on Tuesday, Israeli government spokesman David Mensah declined to comment.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
