Katz bans former deputy IDF chief Yair Golan from reserves for ‘blood libel’

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Friday that The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, will be permanently barred from reserve duty, wearing a military uniform and entering army bases, following the left-wing politician’s statement this week that Israel’s government was killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby.”

Writing on X, Katz called Golan’s remarks a “blood libel” that will “serve enemies of Israel to keep persecuting IDF troops around the world,” including pursuing legal action against them. The minister also expressed support for draft legislation that would empower him to strip officers’ ranks over “such statements and conduct.”

“There is no place for people like Golan in public life,” said Katz. He urged officials from across the political spectrum to denounce Golan, whose Democrats party is a merger of Labor and Meretz, and whose support would likely be necessary to form a government comprising parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Golan hit back on X, saying the last time he had worn a military uniform was during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, “when I went down south to rescue civilians following your government’s horrific security failure.”

The deputy general had indeed driven down to the front lines of his own accord to rescue people from the massacre at the Re’im-area Nova music festival, as thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. He was praised at the time for his heroic actions.

“I promise to continue doing everything for Israel and its security, and I’m sure you’ll keep groveling to Netanyahu and to his poison machine,” Golan wrote to Katz.

On Tuesday, amid Israel’s expanded push to conquer parts of the Gaza Strip, Golan sparked outrage when he said that “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don’t return to acting like a sane country,” and added: “A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.”

Opposition and coalition members assailed the statement, with some on the right demanding Golan — who does not enjoy parliamentary immunity since he is not a sitting member of Knesset — lose his rank of major general. A day after the statement, following the murder of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, government ministers laid the blame on Golan, without evidence.

Golan refused to walk back his statement, saying in a press conference Tuesday that he had not criticized the military or troops, but rather the hard-right government directing its actions. On Friday, however, he said in a video posted to X that “if there is anyone who feels I hurt IDF troops with my words, I apologize to them.” He also reiterated that he had spoken only of Israel’s political echelon, not IDF soldiers.

Criticism of Golan mounted Thursday when footage emerged of him getting into a shoving match with a protester in Kiryat Shmona who yelled at him to give up his military rank.

Following Golan’s comments, Likud lawmaker Ariel Kallner has pushed for legislation that would let the defense minister strip the ranks and revoke social benefits from any senior officer who calls on soldiers to refuse to serve or “stop volunteering” for reserve duty; urges foreign countries to stop supporting Israel or slap sanctions on the state, its citizens and its security forces; or “defames the security forces of the State of Israel… for work the government instructs them to do.”

The law, based on draft legislation first submitted by Otzma Yehudit member Almog Cohen in 2024, would apply to any officer, retired or still serving, whose rank is at least lieutenant colonel or its equivalent in Israel’s other security forces. That would include the former IDF spokesman to international media, Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner, whom right-wing politicians have slammed for expressing support for Golan’s statement.

התקרב בצורה מאיימת – ודחף: עימות בין יאיר גולן למפגין שקרא לו להוריד את הדרגות@amit_segal pic.twitter.com/yugAolVv96

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) May 22, 2025

Writing on X on Friday, Katz said he would support such legislation.

Meanwhile, Golan has vowed to sue Netanyahu for saying in a press conference Wednesday that the former general’s statement was reminiscent of the medieval blood libel in which Jews were accused of using the blood of Christian children for ritual purposes. The libel sparked countless attacks on Jews throughout the years, including in the modern era.

Golan has been a lightning rod for Israel’s right wing since 2016, when, as deputy chief of the IDF, he said during a Holocaust Remembrance Day speech that societal trends in Israel were similar to those in pre-Holocaust Europe.

The general, who retired from the military in 2018, went on to join the left-wing Meretz party and represent it in the Knesset from 2019 to 2022, when the party failed to pass the electoral threshold.

Golan briefly commanded nationwide respect for his heroic acts during the October 7 onslaught. The former general rode his newfound acclaim to become the head of the Labor party and merge it with Meretz as The Democrats, which emerged as one of the potential larger anti-Netanyahu parties in recent opinion polls.

Right-wing criticism of Golan has surged as his political clout has grown, with Transportation Minister Miri Regev falsely claiming in March that it was altogether “fake news” that the former general had rescued people during the Hamas attack.