Comments critical of Israel’s war in Gaza by the leader of a left-wing opposition party have sparked a wave of condemnation across the Israeli political spectrum.
Yair Golan, a former senior general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and now leader of the Democrats, said in a radio interview on Tuesday with the Kan public broadcaster: “A sane country doesn’t kill babies as a hobby and doesn’t set the expulsion of a population as a goal.”
Furious rebukes were led by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who described the comments as unbridled incitement against Israeli troops and the state of Israel.
“The IDF is the most moral army in the world, and our soldiers are fighting in a war for our very existence. Golan, who encourages refusal [to serve] and who in the past compared Israel to the Nazis while he was still in uniform, has now reached a new low,” he said.
Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog, who rarely comments on political matters, said “grave and mendacious slander against IDF soldiers is a red line”.
Justice minister Yariv Levin called on the IDF to strip Mr Golan of his military rank of major general.
In a statement, the IDF said it operated “against our enemies, out of loyalty to the IDF’s values, to the law and to international law while uncompromisingly safeguarding the security of the state of Israel and its citizens”.
Politicians from opposition and centrist parties also criticised Mr Golan, but he doubled down on his comments, stressing these were aimed at coalition politicians, not soldiers fighting in Gaza.
“This government is full of people who have no connection whatsoever to Judaism. Vengeful types who are bereft of any intelligence, morality or ability to run a country in a time of emergency,” he said.
“Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state among the nations, the South Africa of yore, unless it reverts to acting like a sane country.”
In 2016, as deputy IDF chief of staff, Mr Golan likened societal developments in Israel to “horrifying processes” that took place in Europe in the run-up to the Holocaust. Many attributed that speech to Mr Golan being passed over for the position of IDF chief of staff.
His comments on Tuesday came as Israeli forces continued their escalation in Gaza, advancing into more Palestinian neighbourhoods, forcing tens of thousands of residents to once again flee their homes.
More than 53,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. The Israelis have said 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 taken hostage.
