Ehud Barak learns to stop worrying about the Iranian bomb

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed his views in Tel Aviv today on Israeli security, and he certainly made them interesting: It must be understood that if between the Jordan [River] and the [Mediterranean Sea] there is only one political entity called ‘Israel,’ it will by necessity either be not Jewish or not democratic, and ...

JIM HOLLANDER/AFP/Getty Images
JIM HOLLANDER/AFP/Getty Images
JIM HOLLANDER/AFP/Getty Images

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed his views in Tel Aviv today on Israeli security, and he certainly made them interesting:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed his views in Tel Aviv today on Israeli security, and he certainly made them interesting:

It must be understood that if between the Jordan [River] and the [Mediterranean Sea] there is only one political entity called ‘Israel,’ it will by necessity either be not Jewish or not democratic, and we will turn into an apartheid state.

The use of apartheid is a rarity among Israeli officials, but Barak was underscoring what he believes to be Israel’s most serious threat:

The lack of defined boundaries within Israel, and not an Iranian bomb, is the greatest threat to our future.

Andrew Swift is an editorial researcher at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.