Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke at a Labor party forum for the first time in several years on Sunday, but while he used the occasion to lambaste the government, he stopped short of announcing his return to politics. "The Netanyahu-Bennett government has compromised Israel's security," Barak said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett. "Their determination in the pursuit of their agenda is a manifestation of baseless hatred and political blindness. We have a crybaby government that is weak and paralyzed." Barak also repeated his call to promote the two-state solution, saying that "sometimes the only way out is through a painful divorce. ... An Israel that has under its control 5 million Arabs without citizenship will necessarily become non-Jewish or undemocratic. The agenda currently being pursued will result in one apartheid state with an Arab majority and a civil war; this is a threat to Zionism. " At one point during his speech, a heckler stood up and said Barak had destroyed Labor when he was chairman. "A party that wants to lead must be a big-tent party and make sure its contains its disagreements," Barak said, before launching into a new attack on the government. "Despite the scare tactics currently being waged, Israel does not face existential threats. The Islamic State group is a source of concern because they know how to spread fear with the help of technology, but they are not the first to behead people and they do not pose a military threat to Israel. ... Being fearful and feeling victimized is not a bad thing politically, but from a Zionist perspective we must act in a completely different way. We must take the initiative and be bold, rather than be passive." Labor leader Isaac Herzog also spoke at the event, and said it was time for Barak and others to return to the party. "For the party to cast itself as an alternative to the government, it must first enlist public figures and politicians who will join forces and fight together. We must check our egos to effect change. ... Ehud, let me offer you a piece of advice. The party's DNA has not changed since you defected and took with you Labor Knesset seats [in 2011], but now this is a big party, with 24 seats. I am very happy that you are now back in the public limelight and I urge you to join the tent I am pitching," Herzog said. He added, "I enjoy reading your tweets; I have no doubt they are heard loud and clear among the public and on Balfour Street [address of the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem]. But our friends here want you to stop being a spectator and join us. There is more to life than tweets and Twitter." Barak responded by saying he has no plans to run for the party chairmanship again. Also on Sunday, the party elected a new secretary general, Eran Hermoni, to replace MK Hilik Bar.
