Why Israel will never forgive Yair Golan

Yair Golan, once a decorated IDF Major General and the great hope of Israel’s fractured left, has become a national pariah, his political career in tatters after a vile outburst accusing Israel of “killing Palestinian babies as a hobby.”

The raw, unfiltered backlash has been relentless, with Defense Minister Israel Katz delivering a brutal blow, banning Golan from IDF bases, reserve duty, and even wearing a military uniform. The move, coupled with a plummeting public image, has left Golan isolated, his Democrats party, a Labor-Meretz alliance, teetering on the edge of oblivion.

Golan’s fall from grace began when his ultra-extremist views were laid bare, most notably his claim that “a sane country doesn’t kill babies as a hobby.” The statement, a grotesque slander against IDF soldiers, sent shockwaves through Israel, a nation already battered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and ongoing threats including relentless Houthi missiles.

His words didn’t just outrage Israelis, they were shared (and celebrated) by Hamas supporters and international media, with some claiming the former deputy chief of staff’s accusations lent credibility to their narrative of Israeli “genocide.”

Disturbingly, there’s even speculation that Golan’s rhetoric may have fueled the mindset behind the May 21, 2025, murder of Israeli Embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington, D.C.

In a frantic bid to salvage his reputation, Golan issued two apologies: a half-hearted one claiming he targeted the government, not soldiers, followed by a full apology to the IDF on May 22, 2025.

But the damage was done. His aggressive outburst at a citizen in Kiryat Shmona only deepened the public’s distrust, painting him as a loose cannon consumed by hatred. As Prof. Moshe Cohen Elia wrote in a blistering critique, “When it became clear who Yair Golan is, an extremist who slanders IDF soldiers with baseless genocide accusations, the public, even on the left, turned away.” The phrase “killing babies as a hobby” was branded “the height of dark demagoguery,” a demonic smear that has left Israelis questioning Golan’s motives and sanity.

Once a rising star who briefly revived the left’s fortunes, Golan saw his Democrats party poll at 14 seats earlier this year, a flicker of hope for a movement crushed since its 1992 peak when Labor and Meretz held 56 Knesset seats.

But yesterday's Maariv poll, revealed the brutal cost of his recklessness: the Democrats have crashed to just seven seats, fewer than their last election tally when Meretz failed to pass the electoral threshold. The radical left, now a mere 4% of Israel’s Jewish public, is all Golan has left. His supporters, a shrinking cadre including Micky Gitzin of the New Israel Fund and conscientious objector Prof. David Enoch, are dismissed as fringe radicals, leaving Golan politically radioactive.

The political establishment has also turned its back on him. Yair Lapid called him “extreme left,” while Benny Gantz and Avigdor Liberman issued scathing condemnations, ensuring Golan’s ostracism. Defense Minister Katz’s ban was a gut punch, justified as a response to a “blood libel” that could harm IDF soldiers internationally.

Katz is now pushing for legislation to strip ranks from reserve officers for such statements, a move that could cement Golan’s exile from military circles. Golan’s retort, calling Katz a “draft-dodger minister” and boasting of his October 7 heroics, only deepened the perception of him as defiant and out of touch.

Israel has no patience for Golan’s betrayal. His rhetoric, seen as a gift to Israel’s enemies, has made him a symbol of division at a time when unity is paramount. “The people of Israel do not forget those who defame,” Cohen Elia wrote, and Golan’s fall proves it. His base, once vibrant, is now a skeleton crew of radicals, and his dreams of leading the left, or the nation, are ashes. Recovery seems impossible; Golan has squared no circle, only burned every bridge.

For a man who once saw himself as a defender of Israel’s values, Golan’s legacy is now tainted by division, leaving him to face the consequences of a fall that may prove impossible to reverse.