Worried, charged and sometimes apocalyptic — that was the impression made by former Meretz party chairman Chaim "Jumes" Oron last Sunday, June 9, when he delivered a speech to his party’s convention that convened to discuss diplomatic issues. Oron warned against the collapse of the Zionist enterprise if there were no immediate progress in the two-state solution. “Our time is running out. We cannot continue to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.”

Despite the sharpness of the left-wing party head’s words, someone viewed as a pragmatic and much-esteemed individual even by his right-wing rivals — the headlines of the convention went, ironically, to senior Fatah member Jibril Rajoub.

Rajoub was supposed to speak at the convention but Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon barred his entrance to Israel, claiming that Rajoub “incites most harshly against Israel.” Thus it came to pass that the person whose presence was barred, served to publicize the very existence of the Meretz convention to the Israeli public.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Oron explained why he felt it was urgent to say what he said in his speech.