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Epstein Files: Ehud Barak discussed bringing a million Russian immigrants to counter Arab majority in Israel

Epstein Files: Ehud Barak discussed bringing a million Russian immigrants to counter Arab majority in Israel

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak speaks during a rally to protest the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan, in Tel Aviv on June 24, 2023, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the controversial programme Photograph: (AFP)

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Unreleased Epstein Files audio reveals former Israeli PM Ehud Barak discussing Russian immigration, Israeli demographics, Iran strategy and one-state fears.

In the newly released tranche of the Epstein files, an unclassified audio conversation featured Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussing Barack Obama, Israel and Russia. Ehud Barak approached Putin with the prospect of immigrants transforming the region in favour of Israel. Barak suggested that Israel could “easily absorb another one million” Russian-speaking immigrants, hinting at the White-Slavic ethnicity.

“I think, with [a] much more open mind about turning Jews, we can easily absorb another million. I have to tell Putin always that what we need is not just one more million. We need, dramatically, the million Russians,” he said. “I see that many prefer to be Belarusian, or maybe young, handsome girls will come.”

"I believe we have to break the monopoly of the Orthodox rabbinate on marriage and funerals and whatever, and on the definition of a Jew,” said Barak.

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In 1948, during the formation of Israel, Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews made up the majority population of Israel, along with Sephardi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa. In the audio, Barak seems to disparage the Middle East and North African Jews. With the fall of the Soviet Union, a massive influx of migrants spread across the newly independent states, as well as Germany, Israel, and the United States. Nearly a million Russians emigrated to Israel.

“We can control the quality much more effectively, much more than the founding fathers of Israel did,” he said. “They took whatever came. They had to save people. Now, we can be more selective.” He further added that the Haredim are more productive than the Arabs, hinting at the high population growth. But he also discussed the disparity between secular and orthodox. Secular people usually has less children than the Haredim. If there is a failure of the two-state solution, then it will be an “Arab majority” in the case of ”one state". He said that it was the “collective blindness” of Jewish society, pointing out the growing population of Arab Israelis.

The audio recording, which ran over three hours, has references to Iran, Barak's perceived strategy of the Iranian regime of continuity. Iran is determined to follow in the footsteps of Pakistan and North Korea, and they want to avoid the trap of Libya and Iraq. He suggested that something more drastic is needed; only sanctions will not produce the desired result.

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Kushal Deb

Kushal Deb is a mid-career journalist with seven years of experience and a strong academic background. Passionate about research, storytelling, writes about economics, policy, cult...Read More