Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphatically stated that Jeffrey Epstein "did not work for Israel," but at the same time, he used the renewed attention to the Epstein files to attack his predecessor Ehud Barak.
The Jerusalem Post reported that former Prime Minister Barak's ties to Epstein received widespread media attention after the two reportedly met several times in 2015 and 2016, years after Epstein's first criminal conviction.
Photographs circulated at the time showed Barak entering Epstein's Manhattan, New York, residence. In his first public comment on the Epstein documents, Netanyahu said that "Epstein's unusual and close relationship with Ehud Barak does not suggest that Epstein worked for Israel; it proves the opposite."
In a clear attempt to separate the individual from the state, Netanyahu said that “stuck in the wake of his electoral defeat more than two decades ago, Barak has for years obsessively attempted to undermine Israeli democracy by collaborating with the radical anti-Zionist left in failed attempts to overthrow the Israeli government elected by the people.”
He further accused his predecessor of engaging in “public and behind-the-scenes activities to undermine the government of Israel, including inciting mass protest movements, causing unrest, and fueling false media narratives.” Ehud Barak is one of Netanyahu’s most vocal critics and has repeatedly called for the government’s resignation.
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