Former Israeli Officials Speaking Out Against Rush to Iran War

Olmert: Definitely Not Time to Attack Iran

A growing chorus of top former Israeli officials are speaking out in opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran, with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert the latest to declare that now is “definitely not” the time to attack Iran.

Today’s opposition to the war included a very public spat in New York between Israeli Environmental Minister Gilad Erdan and former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, with Erdan accusing Dagan of “sabotaging” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to gain support for the war, and Erdan talking up the long-standing efforts by Likud to legally bar former officials from speaking publicly on the possible attack.

Dagan went on to defend former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, who on Friday had also criticized Netanyahu’s “messianic” administration, though he did say he wished Diskin had spoken sooner instead of waiting until now.

Israel’s current political administration, hawkish to a man on the Iran strike, has repeatedly publicly condemned Dagan and others for speaking out against the prospect of the attack, accusing them of playing for political gain.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.