Thread by @talschneider

Breaking ranks with most MKs, @BarlevOmer and @YairGolan1 two of the top security experts in politics, say the JCPOA was good for Israel, even if everyone else refuses to say so @TimesofIsrael
timesofisrael.com/arguing-in-fav…

Q: In the lead-up to the nuclear deal from 2013 to 2015, did IDF officers express opinions that the deal was ultimately good for Israel in real time?

Golan: Unequivocally. When the agreement was signed in 2015, we, the IDF’s General Staff, read the deal and said:

“This is not a perfect agreement, but it is a good agreement. It’s an agreement that takes the nuclear program years back.” This is what we wanted. This is an extraordinary achievement. And that includes [then-]chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, he knows that well״

Q: In 2015, after publishing criticism of the deal on Facebook, you (Barlev) traveled to Washington and met Rob Malley, one of the lead negotiators of the nuclear deal, at the invitation of J Street.

Barlev: I was wavering at the time, whether to go to Washington, DC, or not. A year later, when the JCPOA was already in effect, J Street suggested I come again, and I refused. Our internal struggles must be waged here, in Israel.
timesofisrael.com/arguing-in-fav…