From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Yair Golan says his charge that Israel ‘killing babies as a hobby’ was criticism of ‘failed’ government, not IDF
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
In a televised address to the nation, The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan pushes back against widespread criticism over his comments this morning that Israel was killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby,” arguing that his “criticism was directed against the government, not the IDF.”
“I said this morning that we are a sane country that does not kill children. When ministers in this government celebrate the death and starvation of children, we must say so. I was referring solely to the most failed government in Israel’s history — not to the IDF. Our mission is to ensure that Israel remains a sane country that does not kill children either as a hobby or as a policy,” Golan declares.
“A government that says that it is possible to abandon hostages and that children should be starved is a government that sounds like a Hamas spokesman. A government that talks about an atomic bomb in Gaza is not a Jewish government, and it is certainly not Zionist,” he continues, asserting that the IDF “is my home and it is my heart.”
“Neither [Bezalel] Smotrich nor [Itamar] Ben Gvir, who are [military service] evaders, and certainly not Netanyahu, will teach me what combat ethics are, and what it means to protect the IDF. Therefore, I am not willing to remain silent when an irresponsible government harms my army. Those who truly hold the IDF dear to their hearts…must stand up courageously against the government,” asserts Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff.
Continuing, Golan accuses the government of turning a “justified and necessary” war into “a war without a security or national purpose,” asserting that “what we are seeing now in Gaza is not a maneuver to release hostages because it was possible long ago to release all the hostages in one comprehensive deal and return them home.”
The current operation in Gaza is also “not a campaign to topple Hamas” because Israel could have long ago taken steps to begin establishing an alternative to the terror group’s rule “with the assistance of the moderate Sunnis, as a regional project that strengthens Israel’s position and security,” he adds.
Turning to the criticism against him, Golan says that he is “not frightened by the poison machine,” nor “by the bullying” or “the attempt to terrorize anyone who dares to speak the truth.”
Speaking with national broadcaster Kan this morning, the retired general 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.”
The political leader, who is not a current member of Knesset, added that “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.”
His comments drew criticism from both the coalition and the heads of all of the Jewish opposition parties.
The Times of Israel Community.