Yair Golan Has Got It Right and Very Wrong

Incoming freshman Member of Knesset from the leftist, Democratic Union list, Yair Golan, did it again. Golan’s constant delegitimization of his political opponents on the right, smacks of the same delegitimization that tyrants, dictators, demagogues and assorted totalitarians always use, just before the Putsch.

Yair Golan is talking about himself

In that regard, he’s right when he said recently,

I’m reminding people that the Nazis came to power democratically, so we have to be careful, very careful, so that radicals with a messianic view won’t exploit Israeli democracy to replace the system of government.

Think “Bolsheviks” too.

But, the DANGER comes from people like himself, and his fellow travelers, like Little Napoleon Ehud Barak.

Barak for example, earlier prophesied, “The State of Israel is just ahead of a complete collapse of Israeli democracy,” when he announced his new party’s name Democratic Israel. “Now is the time to bring back Israel’s hope and courage, to unite and to bring Israel back to sanity.”

Barak’s message, “only I can save Israel.” Pretty messianic, pretty demagogic, don’t you think?

Yair Golan continues his projection

Golan continued,

I’m warning everyone about the radical right. During my many years of service I faced the most difficult elements of violent right-wingers aimed at IDF soldiers. The right is dangerous, to the rule of law, to the survival of Israel, to democracy. The right preaches things that are not part of the democratic process, it sometimes uses democracy to harm democracy. We must be careful of it.

Golan, conveniently is forgetting about all the regular agitation, name-calling and violence against IDF soldiers and Israel from the left-wing, i.e. Breaking the Silence, anarchists, and BDS people.

Yair Golan – like mentor, like pupil

Yair Golan follows in his political mentor Barak’s footsteps. This isn’t new for Golan, he’s been spouting his hatred of people on the right, who don’t agree with him, since at least 2016. As Deputy Chief of the Staff of the Israel Defense Forces at the time, Golan drew a parallel between Germany in the 1930s and Israel today. In his infamous speech at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event, he said

If there is one thing that frightens me in remembering the Holocaust, it is noticing horrifying processes that occurred in Europe…70, 80, and 90 years ago, and finding evidence of their existence here [in Israel] in the year 2016.

That’s the scariest thing about the Holocaust to Golan? Not Jews being murdered in their millions?

And the reaction

After Golan’s latest rant, Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal said on social media that,

The obsession of Yair Golan in finding Nazis in every corner of Israel, teaches us that we are lucky that this man was not IDF Chief of Staff, and that the IDF was spared this embarrassment.

Yamina leader Ayelet Shaked responded on Twitter, to Golan’s most recent statement, “Maybe give up already on this obsession with comparing us to Nazis? It’s not even annoying at this point, just pathetic.”

Yamina MK Bezalel Smotrich agreed, also describing the comparison as an obsession.

As the grandson of Holocaust survivors I despise the cheapening of the Holocaust, which has already become a regular show for [Golan] in his delegitimization campaign against religious Zionism.

What is Yair Golan really doing?

But they’re wrong, its not an obsession. Its the time worn tactic of totalitarians from the far left and far right, to delegitimize their political opponents. And, that’s what ultimately destroys a democracy, when they gain power.

So, people like ex-general MK Yair Golan, and his sidekick, Little Napoleon Barak, who worry Israel is closing in on “fascism,” while ignoring the PalestiNazi’s murderous path; are going to save the day and lead the way to a new era of peace, prosperity and democracy in Israel? I don’t think so.

Biography

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master’s Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

© 2019/5780 Pasko

About the image

“File:Flickr – Israel Defense Forces – Major General (Aluf) Yair Golan Becomes New Commander of the Northern Command (cropped).jpg”by Geagea is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0