Not a traitor: Israel's Right must stop the character assassination of Yair Golan - opinion

Twice in the last nine years, former deputy chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Yair Golan, who serves today as the leader of The Democrats (a merger of the Labor Party, Meretz, and others), was accused of being a traitor for things he said publicly.

The first time was in May 2016, when in uniform, he spoke at an IDF ceremony commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day. The second time was in May 2025, during an interview with KAN Reshet Bet, when he criticized the government’s policies in the strongest terms.

On the first occasion, he said: “If there is something that scares me about the memory of the Holocaust, it is the identification of horrifying processes that occurred in Europe in general, and in Germany in particular – 70, 80, and 90 years ago – and finding evidence of them here, among us, in 2016.”

Two weeks ago, in connection with the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, he said: “A sane state does not kill babies as a hobby.”

The definition of treason, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is “the crime of doing something that harms your country, especially by helping its enemies.” According to articles 97-103 of the Israeli Penal Law (1977), there must be deliberate intent for all the various offenses that are considered treasonous, for a defendant to be found guilty of treason, for which a death sentence exists.

While what they say might be considered negative in its results, they would certainly not be considered acts of treason if they were to come up before a court of law. More likely, they would be seen as an expression of true concern.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2016, people were angered because they believed that Golan was accusing Israel of having turned into a Nazi state. However, he was talking about a movement, in certain political circles, toward extreme right-wing positions, reminiscent of what happened in parts of Europe in the 1930s, which in retrospect is exactly what has transpired.

In the case of Golan’s recent utterance, he was accused of blaming the Israeli soldiers for viewing the killing of Gazan babies as a hobby. In fact, he was speaking of the attitude of the government toward the large number of children and babies killed and maimed as part of “collateral damage,” or the unintentional corollary of legitimate acts of warfare. The word “hobby” was, in my opinion, unsuitable and superfluous, but not an act of treason.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was one of those who accused Golan of treason, refusing to accept Golan’s assurances that when he said “insane state” he was referring to the government – not the IDF. Ben-Gvir went so far as to say that Golan’s comments constituted libel against the minister’s eldest son, Shuval, who recently joined an élite army unit.

Given Ben-Gvir’s own past eight convictions on charges connected with support of terrorism, racism, and disorderly conduct, his accusations against Golan are scandalous.

Accusing Golan of treason is absurd, though one may legitimately believe his ideology to be mistaken. Perhaps, heaven forbid, one day holding a left-wing ideology will be considered treason in Israel. Some people in Israel today (perhaps even many) already believe this to be the case.

I do not know whether Defense Minister Israel Katz views Golan as a traitor, but two weeks ago he instructed the IDF to prohibit Golan from entering any military bases, being called up for reserve duty, and wearing an IDF uniform. Justice Minister Yariv Levin actually suggested that Golan’s rank of “major general” be taken away from him.

Golan has a brilliant military record

Furthermore, all of Golan’s five sons have served in the IDF, as well as in the current war. A former right-wing MK accused Golan’s daughter on Channel 14 of being a pacifist who had shirked military service altogether. But alas, Golan has no daughter.

What is especially worrisome about the current besmirching of Yair Golan, and the accusations that he is a traitor, is that the last time this was hurled at an Israeli leader, it ended in the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. More than 30 years ago, Netanyahu was the leader of the opposition, and although he was critical of Rabin, at least he was on the record as saying: “Rabin is wrong. He is not a traitor.”

Though Golan isn’t currently an MK, he is the leader of the party that all opinion polls indicate would be the third largest party, with 12-17 Knesset seats, if elections were held today. I believe the least that Netanyahu can say today about Golan is what he said about Rabin. However, what Netanyahu actually said in reference to Golan was: “I strongly condemn the wild incitement of Yair Golan against our brave soldiers, and against the State of Israel…”I do not know whether Golan is receiving any safety protection, besides the protection provided him by his own party.

Golan is a worthy and inspiring leader for the Zionist Left in these stormy days. He is honest, coherent, assertive, and non-apologetic. As things look today, there is no chance he will ever form a government.

However, if the current polls prove correct, he will certainly play a major role in the Right/Center/Left coalition that will be formed after the next Knesset elections. He will also play an important role in moving Israel back to being a liberal democracy, which will seek reasonable compromises to bring about moderate changes in Israel’s judicial system and the makeup of its ruling élites.

If the libelous campaign against him stops, Yair Golan can play an important balancing and uniting role in our society… If.

The writer has written journalistic and academic articles, as well as several books on international relations, Zionism, Israeli politics, and parliamentarism. From 1994-2010, she worked in the Knesset library and Knesset Research and Information Center.