Golan hecklers called ‘heroes,’ but also condemned; Democrats say they won’t stand down

After Democrats leader Yair Golan is heckled at a Beersheba event as a traitor, Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen, who was among the hecklers, takes the stage to praise the protesters, calling them “heroes.”

Others are less impressed. National Unity party head Benny Gantz condemns the chants of “traitor,” and calls for prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the same.

“The fact that there is divisive and poisonous rhetoric in Israel over and over again obligates all of us to do deep soul searching,” he writes on X.

Former lawmaker Emilie Moatti says the incident proves that Golan should be afforded protection, either from the state or the party.

But Golan posts online that he is not cowed, hinting that Netanyahu or other senior politicians on the right are behind the campaign against him.

“I see the people and the hate in their eyes and I know that this is incitement from above. The same person who incited [Yitzhak] Rabin’s murder continues to incite today,” he writes. “I’m not scared. I tell the poison machine, I will not be deterred and will stop until you are removed from power.”

Democrats MK Naama Lazimi, who is at the same conference where Golan was heckled, posts defiantly on X, “We’re here, we are not afraid. Standing tall against the abandonment and plunder. A sane Israel will be victorious.”

Meanwhile, Likud MK Ofir Katz is unimpressed by the whole exchange. “Did something happen today that the media has suddenly started to be shocked at a politician being called a traitor,” he quips on X.