Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a meeting two weeks ago with key political activists from the Labor Party. The participating activists left with the feeling that Barak was examining the possibility of returning to political life before the next elections as the leader who can unite Israel’s center-left camp.
It was an unusual meeting. Ever since he retired in November 2012, Barak has cut himself off completely from any political activity, and it looked like he had finally withdrawn from public life. Now, however, following the controversial conclusion of Operation Protective Edge and the ongoing political vacuum, reflected by the absence of any political alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak may have identified an opening for a comeback.