After joining Barak’s new party, Golan says he’s on the left, but not a leftist

Yair Golan, who was unveiled as a member of the political party launched by former prime minister Ehud Barak, on Thursday said that although he sees himself as on the left of the political spectrum, he is not a “leftist,” disowning a term that in Israel has become an insult.

In an interview with the Kan public broadcaster, Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, also said that although he believes Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is a “worthy” leader of the country, Barak is “worthier.”

He stressed that he was entering the political arena with a long-term plan, saying: “I am not coming for a day or two, or a month or two, I’ve come to stay. I’ve never been a good sprinter but I’ve always been a good long-distance runner, and I have come for the long haul.”

The comment was perhaps a dig at former IDF general Tal Russo of the Labor party, who earlier this month announced his retirement from politics after a four-month stint as second-in-command of the embattled center-left party.

Touching on the political positions of the new center-left party, Golan said he was in favor of pulling out of the West Bank but believed that some settlements would eventually be part of Israel.

“I have no problem with the annexation of settlements and in any case there are settlements that will probably be part of the State of Israel,” the former IDF deputy chief of staff said.

“But the main question facing the State of Israel is whether we are going to annex or separate. We are unequivocally in favor of separation,” he added. “I think that the two-state solution is the extreme form of separation. I do not know if it will happen tomorrow morning and I think it’s too early to discuss its exact format.”

Golan also discussed his concerns about what he called “corruption” surrounding the April 9 elections.

“A coalition of the two major parties — Likud and Blue and White — should have been formed. But it did not happen due to the corruption — and the corruption of one man,” he charged, presumably referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who triggered a second national election rather than cede the mandate to form a government to another MK.

Barak on Wednesday announced the establishment of a new political party that will compete in the September elections.

“We have come here today to announce the establishment of a new party that will work to reform the country and society… This is not the time to remain sitting on the sidelines,” Barak said at a press conference in Tel Aviv with his partners Golan, law professor Yifat Biton and entrepreneur Kobi Richter.

“Bibi, this is your last chance to go home on your own,” he continued, imploring the prime minister — who is facing pending charges in three corruption cases — not to plunge the country into “chaos” in order to “save yourself from prison.”

Golan, a newcomer to politics, caused controversy during a national Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in 2016 when he compared trends in Israeli society to those in pre-World War II Germany.

Golan was a well-regarded officer in the IDF, holding a number of top positions during his 37-year career until he retired in 2017.