Meretz leadership contender Golan says climate change not among top priorities

Retired major general Yair Golan, who is competing against veteran lawmaker Zehava Galon for the leadership of the left-wing Meretz Party, tells the Kan public broadcaster that climate change is not among his top priorities.

Speaking to Kalman Liebeskind and Assaf Lieberman, he says that Galon – a former Meretz leader — is occupied with “esoteric” issues, while he will put ideology into practice.

Pressed to define esoteric issues, he refers the interviewers to today’s cartoon in the Haaretz newspaper, which lampoons the party for its occupation with “the climate crisis, transgender rights and LGBT surrogacy,” issues of concern to the two Meretz ministers in the outgoing government, Tamar Zandberg, the environmental protection minister, and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz a gay rights advocate.

“We cannot be labeled in this way, even if the issues are important,” he says. Asked whether climate change is important, he says, that anyone can list 220 important issues, but that his top priorities are separating from the Palestinians and ensuring Israel’s security, turning Israel into a welfare state, dealing with religion and state issues and promoting more equality, with an emphasis on the Arab minority in Israel.