FP Live: Ehud Barak on Israel’s Escalating Crisis

Ehud Barak on Israel’s Escalating Crisis

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Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.

Israel’s protests are intensifying. Flights from Tel Aviv have been grounded and staff members at Israeli diplomatic missions abroad have walked off the job to mark their opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reforms.

What happens next? Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak shared his candid thoughts on FP Live. Asked about what happens next in the current impasse between the demonstrators and Netanyahu, he said “He will double down. We will double down. At the end, he will fall.”

Watch the full interview here. FP Insiders can read the edited and condensed transcript here.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak predicts Netanyahu will capitulate to the protests and leave politics. Watch to learn more.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on whether Israel’s enemies, namely Iran and Hezbollah, see the internal divide within the country as an opportunity to launch an attack.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offers an example of how the security apparatus in Israel could carry out orders if the government of Benjamin Netanyahu passes judicial reforms and the Supreme Court strikes the reforms down.

Ehud Barak

Former Israeli prime minister

Ehud Barak served as Israel’s former prime minister. He is also a decorated military general and served as the country’s defense minister and as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

Ravi Agrawal

Editor in chief, Foreign Policy

Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He has shared a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations for his work as a TV producer, and his writing for FP was part of a series nominated for a 2020 National Magazine Award for columns and commentary. Agrawal is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

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A former Israeli prime minister explains why he thinks people power will prevail.

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Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.
Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.

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The war in Ukraine has propelled the United States and Europe closer on a variety of foreign-policy issues. But do Washington and Brussels agree on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout...Show more

Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.
Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.

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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show more

Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.
Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.

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