Israel must return to become a liberal society that is a home for all Jews, including Reform and Conservative, Democrats chairman MK Yair Golan said on Sunday.
Speaking at the 50th annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, Golan declared that the coming year will be a “year of decisiveness,” which will include a series of decisions that will decide the “destiny” of Israel.
Regarding national security, Israel needed to pair its military might with strong diplomatic ties to its neighbors and allies, he said.
The second important aspect is equality – “a citizen is a citizen,” no matter the differences, and there must be an equality of opportunity, Golan said. This included equality between ultra-Orthodox and the rest of society in employment and military service.
Israel also needed to fix systemic problems in its democratic system, Golan said. Power needed to be distributed broader than the current situation.
Freeing all hostages
The first step in the right direction, according to Golan, is to free all of the hostages being held by Hamas. “This government fell in love with war,” Golan said.
As a career military officer, he said, he was very familiar with the mentality and knew that it was bad. Golan said the war should end as soon as possible.
The next step is establishing a national committee of inquiry, he said.
Finally, Israel should have elections as soon as possible since the government does not enjoy legitimacy, as it put judicial reform as the first priority, “against the wish of the people,” he said.
To fix Israel, a government is needed that has internal and international legitimacy, Golan said.