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Israel could cease to exist before 80th anniversary, says ex-premier Barak

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak (Photo by AFP)

Former premier Ehud Barak has expressed concern about Israel's survival, saying the entity will cease to exist before the 80th anniversary of its 1948 establishment.

In an interview with Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the former military general turned prime minister, said Jews have not ruled for more than 80 years on the trot throughout history, predicting a doom-and-gloom scenario for Israel. 

“Throughout the Jewish history, the Jews did not rule for more than eighty years, except in the two kingdoms of David and the Hasmonean dynasty, and in both periods, their disintegration began in the eighth decade,” Barak said.

The 80-year-old former premier said the present Israeli regime represents the third experience and is approaching the eighth decade of the entity’s existence.

Barak said he harbors deep fears that the curse of the eighth decade would befall the present Israeli regime.

He noted that many regimes, including those in the United States, Italy, and Russia, have experienced the curse of the eighth decade, and that Israel is no exception, drawing an analogy between the Zionist regime and fascism, Nazim and communism.

According to Barak, the United States witnessed a civil war in the eighties, Italy became a fascist country in the eighth decade of its rule, Germany became a Nazi country in the eighth decade, and this eventually led to its defeat and disintegration and the Soviet Union also disintegrated in the eighth decade of the communist revolution.

The ultra-conservative former premier’s fears echo prevailing fears in the occupied territories.

A recent survey of young Israeli adults found that nearly half of the population in the occupied Palestinian territories is not optimistic about Israel's future, with more than one-third of people thinking about migrating for jobs and better life.

The Israeli Fenima research center described its findings published in the Hebrew-language Hayom newspaper last week as “worrying”. It noted that 33% of Israeli youth are seriously considering immigration from the occupied territories, while 44% of them see no future in Israel.

Issues such as rising living costs, precarious security, and widening social schisms are among the key factors forcing young Israelis to think of leaving the occupied territories.

In the poll, 40% of the respondents cited rising costs, while 22% of those questioned blamed poor security situation. Social divisions were cited as a reason by 18% of the participants in the poll.

Many analysts have pointed to the theory of “Collapse from Within” regarding the future of Israel, citing three factors of economic crisis, poor security situation, and social divisions for the imminent decline and fall of the regime.

In October last year, a former high-ranking military commander said Israeli troops were not prepared for a multi-frontal war and would most probably fail if such a confrontation broke out, emphasizing that Israel was on the verge of collapse.

Major General Yitzhak Brick said his remarks about the inherent weakness of the Israeli army and the fact that Israel was on the brink of death was not an angry outburst but incontrovertible facts that could not be overlooked.

He predicted that the Israeli regime’s next war will be on the domestic front, a scenario which it has not experienced so far.

“A new war will take us back to long years gone by. The difficulties that we went through throughout previous wars will be nothing in comparison with the fallout from the future confrontation,” Brick remarked.

He said thousands of missiles and rockets would be unleashed daily into the Israeli-occupied territories in the event of a new war and a high number of unmanned aerial vehicles would fly overhead, destroying everything.

“Given the current situation, there is no going back in the next war and we must do everything we can to save ourselves. The next war would cause a damning catastrophe, and would largely destroy Israel’s infrastructure,” Brick asserted.

“Why shouldn't we set up a research committee before such a war to rectify the situation, and prevent a catastrophe from which it is impossible to escape?”


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