When Yair Golan, an IDF reserve Major-General and former member of Israel's parliament, falsely implies that the nation's soldiers "kill babies as a hobby" in Gaza, something is serious amiss among Israel's leaders at this critical time of an existential war.
Golan continued in his May 20 remarks, "[I]t is time to replace this government as soon as possible so that this war can also come to an end."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his cabinet colleagues and even his political opponents, were outraged at Golan's "blood libel" against the heroic warriors of Israel, who for nearly two years, have been defending their country and sacrificing their lives for it. Nearly 900 Israeli soldiers have been killed so far in the war begun by Hamas on October 7, 2023,
There is little difference between Golan's blood libel and the one that emanated from the radical, biased United Nations, which on May 21 falsely claimed that Israel was going to starve to death 14,000 Palestinian babies in Gaza in the following 48 hours.
Netanyahu said the remarks of Golan were "outrageous" with "no limit to moral decay." He added:
"While we are engaged in a multi-front war and leading complex diplomatic efforts to free our hostages and defeat Hamas, Golan and his allies in the radical left are echoing some of the vilest antisemitic blood libels against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel."
Earlier, Golan had said that Netanyahu's government "is fuelling antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and the result is unprecedented diplomatic isolation and danger for every Jew, everywhere on the globe." Golan then declared that his party, the Democrats, "will replace them and restore security to every Jew—in Israel and around the world."
So here we have it: when radical activists are no longer in power, their hatred for conservative governments and their leaders apparently transcends respect for democracy. Repeated within the Israel political framework, as elsewhere, the divide between the far-left and conservatives polarizes society, thereby weakening the nation against external enemies.
This temporary lapse was evident in Israel when the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security organization, failed to anticipate or prepare for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, after many months or even years of reported information that there was unusual military activity across the border in Gaza, a failing acknowledged by Shin Bet director Ronen Bar. Despite the government losing all trust in him, Bar nonetheless practically had to be forced to resign
Golan's suspiciously self-serving ruminations, are, of course, pure fantasy, and uttered at great potential cost to Israel's credibility. JNS reported on May 19:
"According to a Direct Polls survey published by Israel's Channel 14 News channel on May 15, if elections were held today, The Democrats would win 16 [out of 120] Knesset seats..."
The Democrats would thus have zero chance of forming a government. Golan's personal political ambitions appear misaligned with reality.
There is little doubt that Golan believes in the moral validity of his position. As Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz commented last week,
"In this era of great polarization, politics has replaced ethics and religion. Whether what you do is right or wrong is no longer relevant; all that matters now is if it favors the right or the left. Politics has become an all-encompassing passion; advocates are blind to their own subjectivity".
This failure is probably even more prevalent in an era where many people seem to have convinced themselves there is supposedly no such thing as "objective truth." Nevertheless, Golan's pronouncements will most likely have detrimental consequences for Israel's reputation and that of the IDF, especially among many Europeans, transnational organizations and self-described "human rights" groups who do not like Israel to begin with, no matter what it does.
These malicious declarations may well also have consequences for the future of leftist politicians in Israel: it is unlikely that a great statesman would be able to emerge from their ranks when holding such a radical positions. Thanks to Israel's tiny size, roughly the same as the state of New Jersey (around 22,000 sq. km.) the simple reason is that the interests of the nation come first, not political ambition or self-interest. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is an example of selfless service and courage in pursuing his country's best interests, its security and future no matter the personal cost, which has been considerable.
The question that arises is: How did this Golan become a Major-General, a member of parliament and a party leader? His high-level positions speak volumes of the powerful and entrenched leftist cohort within the military and government bureaucracy, and their attempts to undermine the prime minister who is doing an extraordinary job of defending his country in a seven-front war set in extremely complex circumstances.
Even before the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Jews had a long history of trying to establish a state in the land of Israel according to a European template built on believing you can make peace with people whose goal in life is to destroy you. These efforts only gave birth to policies like the Oslo Accords, which turned out to be disastrous for Israel.
The schism, between the peace-wishers and the gimlet-eyed, is nothing new. It goes back many decades, as far back as the 1932-1933 political, social and ideological friction between David Ben-Gurion's socialist Mapai party and Ze'ev Jabotinsky's conservative Revisionists (which would later become a key component of today's governing Likud party).
In 1932, Jabotinsky had published a statement, which read: "The time has come to call things by their proper name: the takeover by the leftists in the Land of Israel will lead to knife fights between Jews themselves."
Fast-forward to 1977, when Yitzhak Ben-Aharon, a Mapai member of the Knesset who lost his seat in the first electoral defeat of his party, was so incensed at the Likud's victory under Menachem Begin that he exclaimed, "The people made a mistake." He revealingly added, "If this is their decision, I do not respect it."
The discord between the left and right in Israel has continued relentlessly ever since.
Yisrael Medad, former director of educational programming at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, recently wrote: "Not only is there rot in the 'privileged class' reality of Israel's Old Guard, but a serious danger to society as well."
The "old guard" he refers to are the so-called elites – often leftist intellectuals and academics:
"Their bases are in the Supreme Court, senior bureaucracy (with singular powers awarded to the attorney general), and the senior security establishment (the Shabak and the Mossad), along with ex-generals who fill the auditoriums of various conferences that seek, though the mobilized media, to dictate to the public and the government what to do and how to act."
Despite its internal and external challenges, modern Israel remains stronger than ever. In 1969, then Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said, "we have a secret weapon and our secret weapon is: no alternative." The Jews will triumph over all their enemies – including the foxes in their vineyard. They always have.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, and many others.
Rob Porter