Israel is entering a civil war, former prime minister Ehud Olmert says

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

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Ehud Olmert, the only Israeli prime minister who was convicted of a criminal offense and served a prison sentence, has hitched his cart of a political comeback to the horses of the anarchy, alongside another has been, former prime minister Ehud Barak. On Monday, their side was handed a clear defeat which no burning of bonfires in the streets and clashes with police can erase. And so, without hesitation, Olmert declared a civil war on UK TV’s Channel 4, shocking his interviewer.

Here are the full 58 seconds of his declaration, please note the host’s shock, to which Olmert responds by softening the term from “civil war” to “civil disobedience.” But don’t let that fool you, the man who’s been watching Netanyahu with dripping envy since 2006, like Barak, who’s been dripping the same envy juice since 2000, wants a civil war.

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“There is a threat. This is a serious threat,” the former prime minister said. “It’s never happened before and we are going into a civil war now.”
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Ehud Olmert at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York, September 12, 2022 / (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

In an interview with British news outlet Channel 4 News, former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, declared that Israel is going into a civil war following Monday’s vote to pass a bill severely restricting the use of the reasonableness standard.

“There is a threat. This is a serious threat,” Olmert said. “It’s never happened before and we are going into a civil war now.”

Many within Israeli society have been expressing their displeasure regarding the government’s judicial reforms. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets over recent weeks, thousands of IDF reservists have threatened to quit volunteer service, and following the passing of the bill, Israeli medical personnel have elected to strike in protest of the new law. Still, civil war has not broken out in Israel, and Olmert appeared to walk back his statement.

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“Civil war?” the Channel 4 News anchor asked Olmert.

“Yeah, I mean, civil disobedience with all the possible ramifications to the stability of the state and to the ability of the government to perform and to the obedience of the large part of the Israeli population,” Olmert clarified.

Ehud Olmert at the Netanyahu’s defamation trial against him, June 12, 2022. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

Olmert went on to explain that the civil disobedience is being directed toward “a government which is perceived by a large part of the population to be illegitimate. [The] government has decided to threaten the foundations of Israeli democracy. And this is not something that we can accept or that we can tolerate.”

Commenters slam Olmert’s conviction

Many comments on the Channel 4 News Twitter video appeared unimpressed by Olmert’s remarks.

“This old man is a convicted criminal who was in prison because he took a bribe! in cash envelopes, and you believe such a man?!” replied the commentator. Other comments similarly slammed the former prime minister for his conviction.

“Prisoner number 9032478,” another comment read. 

Olmert is not the first to suggest that Israel is on the path to civil war. Many of Israel’s opponents have celebrated what they see as Israel being on its path to destruction. Others have proposed courses of action that Israeli leadership could take in order to mollify that large portion of the country that is upset over the passing of the judicial reform.

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