Ex-Mossad Chief: Radical-Right Jews More Dangerous than Iran

Ex-Mossad Chief: Radical-Right Jews More Dangerous than Iran

Ex-Mossad Chief: Radical-Right Jews More Dangerous than Iran

 Ephraim Halevy says Iran is not an existential threat.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

A former chief of Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, says that ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel pose more of a threat to the Jewish state than Iran. Ephraim Halevy pooh-poohed the threat from Iran, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were said to be rounding up support for a unilateral attack on Iran. Halevy said Iran is “far from posing an existential threat to Israel.”

Instead, Halevy said that the real danger to Israel comes from radical, ultra-orthodox Jews, also known as “haredi  Jews.” He said: “The growing haredi radicalization poses a bigger risk than Ahmadinejad. The ultra-Orthodox extremism has darkened our lives.”

Halevy, along with another former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, is opposed to an Israeli attack on Iran, and he supports stronger efforts to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians.

Anti-Iran bombast from Netanyahu, along with Israeli media reports that the prime minister is seeking to win support for striking Iran’s nuclear research facilities, has caused widespread concern in Israel and around the world. Halevy’s comments caused sputters of outrage from the far-right religious parties that make up a crucial pillar of Netanyahu’s extreme-right government.

Be part of 160 years of confronting power 


Every day,
The Nation exposes the administration’s unchecked and reckless abuses of power through clear-eyed, uncompromising independent journalism—the kind of journalism that holds the powerful to account and helps build alternatives to the world we live in now. 

We have just the right people to confront this moment. Speaking on Democracy Now!, Nation DC Bureau chief Chris Lehmann translated the complex terms of the budget bill into the plain truth, describing it as “the single largest upward redistribution of wealth effectuated by any piece of legislation in our history.” In the pages of the June print issue and on The Nation Podcast, Jacob Silverman dove deep into how crypto has captured American campaign finance, revealing that it was the top donor in the 2024 elections as an industry and won nearly every race it supported.

This is all in addition to The Nation’s exceptional coverage of matters of war and peace, the courts, reproductive justice, climate, immigration, healthcare, and much more.

Our 160-year history of sounding the alarm on presidential overreach and the persecution of dissent has prepared us for this moment. 2025 marks a new chapter in this history, and we need you to be part of it.

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 during our June Fundraising Campaign to fund our change-making reporting and analysis. Stand for bold, independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward, 

Katrina vanden Heuvel 
Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x