Yair Golan

Yair Golan (Hebrew: יאיר גולן; born 14 May 1962) is an Israeli politician and retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), where he served as deputy chief of the general staff from 2014 until his discharge in 2016 after nearly 38 years of service. Golan's military career included commanding the IDF's Northern Command, heading the Operations Directorate, and being wounded in combat during operations in Lebanon; he was once considered a candidate to become IDF chief of staff under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Transitioning to politics, he was elected to the Knesset in 2020 as a member of the left-wing Meretz party and later became the leader of The Democrats party following its formation from a merger involving Labor and Meretz in 2024, advocating for a two-state solution and liberal democratic reforms while opposing Netanyahu's governments. Golan has been a prominent figure in protests against judicial reforms and a critic of IDF operations, notably sparking controversy in a 2016 Holocaust Remembrance Day speech by likening certain societal trends in Israel to those in Europe prior to the Holocaust, which he later clarified did not equate Israel with Nazi Germany, and in 2025 for accusing elements of the government of pursuing policies tantamount to "killing babies as a hobby" in Gaza, prompting widespread condemnation, a partial retraction, and his permanent barring from IDF reserve duty.