The Israeli Defense Minister dials back on the Iran rhetoric:
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was quoted Thursday as saying he does not view Iran as a threat to the existence of the Jewish state, a view that would seem to depart from Israeli statements of the recent past.
Israel’s mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted Barak, the head of Israel’s centre-left Labour party, as saying “Iran does not constitute an existential threat against Israel.”
In response to a question about Tehran’s nuclear program which Israel has said it sees as destined to produce atomic weapons that could put its existence at risk, Barak said in an interview with the paper:
“I am not among those who believe Iran is an existential issue for Israel.”
Barak said “Israel is strong, I don’t see anyone who could pose an existential threat,” although he did add that he viewed Iran as a challenge to the whole world.
In other news, Rush Limbaugh has kicked Ehud Barack out of the Republican Party.
[...] police were called to the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Southlake Plaza Drive in Morrow Sept. Israeli Defense Chief: Iran Is Not An Existential Threat To Israel – belowthebeltway.com 09/17/2009 The Israeli Defense Minister dials back on the Iran [...]