Polls give Yair Golan an advantage

Afrasianet - At  the height of the political crisis sparked by Democratic Party leader Yair Golan's remarks about the "hobby of killing children" in an irrational state, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert added fuel to the crisis by talking about ongoing war crimes and the terror of Ben Gvir and Smotrich. While right-wing leaders took advantage of the killing of embassy staff in Washington to accuse Golan of having blood on his hands, he replied that the blood was on the hands of ministers of what he called the "Kahane Hayy government," a reference to the racist. Rabbi Meir Kahane, who founded the fascist Jewish Defense League. He joined the ring in support or understanding of Golan's remarks toward former war ministers Ehud Barak and Moshe Ya'alon, who were early opponents of Netanyahu and his approach.

Exchange of bombardment

After right-wing leaders launched a propaganda campaign against Olmert for his comments to the BBC, in which he said that "Israel is close to committing war crimes in Gaza", he returned and asserted in a radio interview that "this policy will bring disaster to the State of Israel". Olmert sharply attacked Netanyahu's government on Thursday morning. In an interview on 103FM, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called them "terrorists" and warned that Israel was going to The path of disaster and international isolation. 

Olmert said in the interview: "I am not calling on soldiers to refuse." "This war didn't start suddenly this morning, and then a man who was Israel's prime minister stood up and said, 'Guys, this has no purpose.'" "We're talking about 19 months of fighting, we're talking about constant attrition." He stressed that his criticism is directed at the government and not at the Israeli army: "We call for an end to the chaos of the government and the arrogance of governance." "We call for an end to this policy, which is causing disaster for the State of Israel – and will lead to its isolation and ostracism from the whole world, given the policy led by two terrorists – Ben Gvir and Smotrich." 

Presenter Giola Even Sa'ar, the wife of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, wondered with astonishment: "Two terrorists?" – Olmert replied: "Yes, absolutely. terrorists."

Olmert did not back down from his statement in an interview with the BBC that "what Israel is doing in Gaza is approaching war crimes." "I used cautious language and said the war was meant to go on and on in order to avoid the need to end it," he said. He added that the majority of the public now no longer finds any sense in that. "It's a war without purpose, without destination, without any chance of success." He strongly blamed the government's behavior: "There are no goals. All this is just a hoax, a fraud, a deception, an arrogance, a boast, unfounded." He warned that the expansion of the fighting in the Gaza Strip poses a real danger: "What is happening is basically actions that bring us very close to losing our hostages, unfortunately also lead to the death of our soldiers, and cause a huge number of deaths and injuries among the Palestinian population not participating."

Electoral motives

However, the campaign against Golan has not stopped, as the focus on him by actors in the political arena also serves partisan purposes, especially in light of the prospect of the disintegration of the government and the holding of early elections. Opinion polls have given Golan, who has succeeded in uniting Labor and Meretz, a greater chance of achieving electoral achievement. Therefore, as soon as the Washington operation took place against two Israeli embassy employees, the campaign against him escalated under the slogan "The blood of both is on your hands." 

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of Ben Gvir's party who has previously called for a nuclear bomb to bomb Gaza, accused Democratic leader Yair Golan of responsibility for the attack in Washington. "Yair Golan's bloody conspiracies resonate between Nazis and Israelis around the world," he wrote on X's account. "Yair, the blood of embassy staff is on your hands and that of your friends." Culture and Sports Minister Mickey Zohar said: "When despicable and irresponsible politicians discredit Israel with its false accusations of genocide and war crimes, it was clear that anti-Semitism would raise its head and Palestinian terrorists would receive support to carry out attacks." 

Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Anti-Semitism, Amichai Shekli, also accused Golan: "Anyone who spreads lies, compares Israel to the Nazis, accuses the IDF of war crimes, or promotes the 'hobby' of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel to kill children is a complete accomplice in the outcome." Transport Minister Miri Regev did not lag behind in the campaign against Golan: "A young couple who were about to get married tonight was murdered by a despicable terrorist. The shedding of our blood is directly linked to the fake and false statements of Yair Golan, Olmert and others."

Yair Golan responded to Eliyahu and the ministers: "It is the Netanyahu government, the government of Kahane Hai, that fuels anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel, and the result is unprecedented political isolation and a threat to every Jew everywhere in the world. We will replace them and restore security to every Jew in Israel and everywhere in the world." "I share the grief of the families of the victims killed in the attack and support all employees of the State of Israel's foreign service."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who was one of the first to condemn Golan's remarks, was forced to intervene to lower the flames in the crisis, telling politicians: "Stop these ugly battles by throwing mud." "For the despicable killer in Washington, internal Israeli political opinions are worthless. I appeal to the public in Israel: Stop these ugly skirmishes. You are required to realize the magnitude of your responsibility at this time, to rein in your statements, and to do only what contributes to strengthening the State of Israel and supporting the Jewish communities in the world." 

Two heavy players

But Herzog's call for calm did not work as the storm of Golan's remarks about the hobby of child killing continued. Two heavy players joined the ring, including a prime minister, a defense minister and a former chief of staff, Ehud Barak, who publicly supported Golan and said, "He is right." Barak praised Golan's courage and said: "Yair Golan is a brave and straightforward man. An offensive man." If I had the choice between going out tonight in a raid or tomorrow on a difficult political campaign, I would have preferred him by my side, to all his critics and opponents in the last few hours. Even if it was better if he had chosen one or two different words, he clearly meant political leadership, not fighters." Barak reinforced Golan's position in his controversial previous statements, adding: "Even in the precedent  of the 'proceedings' too he was right!" This, of course, is directly related to Golan's words about a decade ago, when he pointed out that similar contexts to the rise of Nazi Germany take place in Israel. 

The second was Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, who stressed that the problem was not Golan's statements, but "the government that does not want to end the war" and is working to turn soldiers into "war criminals against their will." In a radio interview, Ya'alon said the condemnation should have been directed at statements that there were no innocent people in Gaza. Statements such as "We are carrying out a military step, we will leave nothing, we will expel the population, Gaza will be free of Arabs and we will settle it with Jews." These are the things that make the State of Israel a war criminal, not soldiers. There is a poison machine, which immediately provokes discussion between the speakers and the IDF. I didn't hear Golan attack the IDF, I didn't attack the IDF when I talked about ethnic cleansing, I talked about a crazy government."

Ya'alon considered Golan's use of the word "hobby" certainly unsuccessful, and asked: Is the problem with the statement? Did anyone kill with this statement? The problem is that a government that includes Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, with a messianic worldview, does not want to end the war. Golan said nothing about IDF soldiers. I heard the interview. A mirror was erected at the request of field officers. What they are doing now is evacuating the population, and they have been informed of this for operational reasons, but they are aware of something else. At the same time, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Daniela Weiss and others talk about clearing Gaza of Arabs, and that "we will fill it with Jews." This turns soldiers into war criminals against their will. After I said that, I received from the same commanders who contacted me that we had saved them what was supposed to make them war criminals. The facts cannot be ignored. The poison machine immediately directs fire as if we were guilty. Whoever manages this policy is responsible, who allows Smotrich and Ben Gvir to lead a policy that also talks about the sacrifice of hostages, and how Ben Gvir boasts that he blew up the deals. I say this responsibly: the one who has prevented the release of hostages from the beginning of the campaign until now, unfortunately, is this fictitious Israeli Government. 

Endless storm

Golan's statements about the hobby of murder clearly formed the basis for contradictory partisan assessments. Some argued that it had destroyed the opposition's chances of uniting against Netanyahu, especially since opposition leaders were quick to condemn these statements. Others on contrary grounds noted that Golan's statements and boldness signal a new style of leadership that can drag the public aspiring for change behind it. Therefore, positions escalate, intensify and polarize around them. Netanyahu was a burden on Golan and saw him as the embodiment of "moral decay." Golan responded that Netanyahu, especially at his press conference, was "a liar, nervous, chaser, throwing mud." on everyone, and does not take responsibility for anything. I have two promises to Netanyahu tonight: 1 I will sue you for defamation for the lies you spread against me. 2 We will defeat you in the elections very soon and send you to the pages of history." 

The statements of Golan, Olmert, Barak, and Ya'alon seem to aspire to force the creation of a fine line between accidental and deliberate killing of civilians as a result of a declared government policy. The first can be justified by falling under the concept of "incidental damage", while the second is only called "war crimes". The Government of Israel openly calls for the starvation and killing of children in Gaza, and even for the burning and eradication of Gaza . They also include Smotrich, who considered starving two million Palestinians a just and moral act. Among them is Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who considered the use of nuclear weapons an option against Gaza, and who also called for the arrest of Yair Golan, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert on charges of war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.