The serious accusation made Aug. 17 by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak that the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, had endangered state security, is the latest in a series of remarks he has made over the past two years about the prime minister. Since 2014, he has been warning that the man at the helm of the State of Israel is leading the country to disaster, but this time he took it up a notch: According to Barak, Netanyahu shirked his duty to safeguard Israel’s security interests.

Barak’s latest accusatory harangue, which, as expected, became the talk of the day, was delivered Aug. 17 at a gathering of the Darkenu (Our Way – moderate center) movement in the city of Rishon LeZion. It included all the usual elements: Netanyahu’s actions verge on fascism; that he is responsible for the dangerous deterioration in Israel’s ties with the United States and President Barack Obama; his judgment is questionable; and a quasi-psychological assessment of the prime minister points to pessimism and anxiety.

In addition, in his roundabout way, Barak hinted at an incident involving Netanyahu that should be of grave concern to Israelis, but about which he could not elaborate “given its sensitivity.”

The text of Barak’s speech was made available to reporters several hours prior to delivery, to create the drama and media effect that the former prime minister and defense minister sought to generate. And indeed, the sight of a bearded Barak standing on a stage and warning against Netanyahu’s disasters, along with a slow summer news day, created the desired sensational news item. Almost all the opposition members in parliament demanded that Barak present himself at the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to report on the egregious incident. At the same time, defense analysts sought to solve the riddle Barak had presented to the Israeli public. The conclusion was that Barak was referring to a series of events concerning US military aid to Israel in light of the 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran.