A day after reigniting a firestorm over comments by IDF deputy chief Yair Golan by criticizing the general, Benjamin Netanyahu now says the affair is behind the country.
“The story of the speech is behind us. I see this as a one-off thing, and from here we’ll all continue together,” Netanyahu says at a pre-holiday toast with top army officials.
The comments would appear to put an end to calls from the right for Netanyahu to sack Golan over comments made at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, in which he seemed to draw parallels between segments of Israeli society to Nazi Germany.
Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Yair Golan lays a wreath at a memorial during a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum as Israel marks the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 5, 2016. (Olivier Fitoussi/Pool)
Golan quickly clarified his comments, amid an outcry, but on Sunday, Netanyahu embarked on a rare public attack on Golan, accusing him of cheapening the Holocaust.
A number of politicians seized on Netanyahu’s comments as hypocritical, given claims he himself has used the Holocaust for political gain.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 9, 2016
