In an April 28, 2012 April 28
Haaretz interview, former Shin Bet chief, Yuval Diskin stated: "I don't
believe in either the prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] or the defense
minister [Ehud Barak]." "They are
misleading the public on the Iran issue. They tell the public that if
Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb. This is misleading. Actually, many
experts say that an Israeli attack would
accelerate the Iranian nuclear race." http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-former-shin-bet-chief-i-have-no-confidence-in-netanyahu-barak-1.426908
Israeli Public
Opinion: "63% strongly or moderately oppose an Israeli attack on Iran"
So could these military and intelligence leaders be conducting a disinformation campaign? Maybe, but their break with top Israeli leadership on the Iranian issue is in line with Israeli public opinion. A recent Israeli poll shows the public siding with the military and intelligence leaders against some top Israeli politicians. A February 2012 survey from the Israel Democracy Institute reported that only 30% of Israelis would support a unilateral attack on Iran. The poll question and response categories are:
Do you support or not support an Israeli attack on
Iran without the cooperation of the United States?
General Public Jewish
Arabic
1. Strongly support 11.9
12.1 11.1
2. Moderately support 19.2 19.3 18.9
3. Moderately oppose 34.9 36.1 27.8
4. Strongly oppose 28.0 26.1 38.9
5. I don't know\ refuse to
answer 5.9 6.4 3.3
Why Benjamin
Netanyahu and Ehud Barak still advocate
such an attack is a question open for debate. But this and other similar polls
illustrate a growing divide between the people of Israel and their political
leaders. This is similar to the growing divide in America between its citizens
and the political leaders who do not truly represent their interests. Israeli
intelligence appears to have sided with the Israeli people.
It is important to note, though, that the low
public approval percentage for an attack on Iran doubled to about 60% when respondents were presented with a
hypothetical question about Americans cooperating in such an attack. The high
approval rating of a joint effort explains why Israeli leaders are putting forth such an effort to lure America into another Middle East war.
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