The leader of a far-left Israeli political party sparked a firestorm of controversy on Tuesday, after he accused the IDF of intentionally targeting Gaza civilians and killing children for sport.

Yair Golan, the chief of the Democrats party – a merger of the left-wing Labor Party and the far-left Meretz faction – spoke out on Kan Reshet Bet radio Tuesday morning to criticize the expanded military operation in the Gaza Strip, dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

During the interview, Golan, who prior to his political career served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF, called on Israel to end its war against Hamas.

“A sane country does not conduct warfare against civilians, does not kill babies for sport, and does not set for itself the goal of expelling a population,” Golan said Tuesday morning.

“These things are simply shocking, and it cannot be that we — the state of the Jewish people, who have been subjected to persecution and pogroms throughout history—are the ones taking actions that are simply unconscionable.”


Golan’s comments quickly drew criticism from both the Opposition and the Coalition.

“I condemn Yair Golan’s remarks,” said Yisrael Beytenu party chairman Avidgor Liberman, who served in the Bennett-Lapid government alongside Golan.

“The IDF is the most moral army in the world, and any false statement like this against it harms our soldiers and the security of the state.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope) called Golan’s comments a “blood libel” against the IDF.

“The blood libel of Yair Golan against the State of Israel and its army will not be forgiven, Sa’ar tweeted. “What Golan said will undoubtedly serve as fuel for the fire of antisemitism around the world — at a time when Israel is fighting for its life against a coalition working to destroy it.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a statement calling Golan’s comments “antisemitic blood libels” and accusing Golan of parroting Hamas’ “talking points.”

“It seems that Yair Golan has taken Hamas’s spokesperson’s talking points and adopted them as his own, when the only hobby Golan himself has ever had is spreading antisemitic blood libels against the State of Israel.
Yair, shame on you!”

This is not the first time Golan has made headlines with controversial comments.

In 2016, while serving as Deputy IDF Chief of Staff, Golan used his address on Holocaust Memorial Day to draw parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany.

“If there is one thing that is scary in remembering the Holocaust, it is noticing horrific processes which developed in Europe – particularly in Germany – 70, 80, and 90 years ago, and finding remnants of that here among us in the year 2016.”

Image - Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90