Following political storm, Yair Golan walks back statement saying Israel 'kills babies as a hobby’

Yair Golan, chairman of Israel's Democrats party, was interviewed on Channel 12 News program “Meet the Press,” where he attempted to walk back his remarks from the previous week that had sparked swift backlash across the political spectrum.  

"Of course not,” Golan said in response to a question about whether he believed IDF soldiers had killed babies for fun. “I didn’t at all talk about the army,” he added. 

“My words were aimed at the political class,” Golan said, before holding up a paper with quotes from coalition ministers which called for the “erasure” or for the “wiping out” of Gaza. 

“I don't remember Smotrich or Ben Gvir ever being asked to apologize for their words,” Golan noted, referring to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“It cannot be that we are renewing fighting in Gaza and the political goals are shaped by people with such a worldview,” he added, referring to the documentation.

Last Tuesday, during an interview with Kan Reshet Bet Radio, Golan, a former deputy chief of staff of the IDF said, “Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state… like the South Africa of old – if it does not return to behaving like a sane country.” 

“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations.” 

His statement caused a bi-partisan uproar and widespread condemnation across the political spectrum. 

Golan's words were even cited by Abd Al-Malik Al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi terror group, who claimed Golan had "confessed to war crimes against civilians and the murder of children in Gaza as a hobby."

“I think this fighting is completely unnecessary. The goal of the war is political,” Golan stated. “Hamas was defeated militarily - we need to bring about an end to the war and the release of all the hostages in one fell swoop.” 

“As a professional, not as a politician – war should be against those who threaten Israel,” Golan stated. "If Israel wants life, it cannot preach the murder of civilians.” 

Amit Segal, one of the show hosts, asked Golan whether his statement referred to calls to starve Gaza until the hostages are released, noting that Golan himself had previously advocated cutting off humanitarian aid to Gaza until the hostages were freed.

“We need to tell them, listen, until these [hostages] are released, as far as we care you can starve to death – it’s completely legitimate,” Golan said at the time, when calling for a complete blockade of Gaza. 

After initially claiming his remarks were taken out of context, Golan shifted course, saying, “What was perhaps right on October 13, as an opening move, is not the right thing to do after 20 months of fighting.”

Following the outrage over his statements last week, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz ordered that Golan be permanently barred from military reserve duty.

In the Channel 12 interview, Golan responded, "How lucky I was that I did not ask Katz for permission to put on uniform on October 7. That day, we did what needed to be done in a place where the Israeli government completely failed. The defense minister has no authority to prevent me from entering the bases. When I need to enter the bases, I will present my major general's certificate, I assume they will let me in. 38 years of service will not go down the drain because of cheap populism by someone trying to take advantage of the situation.” 

On Oct. 7, 2023, despite being retired, Golan put on his uniform, received a weapon from the IDF, and drove down to the area of the Nova Festival, helping to rescue survivors of the Hamas terror attack. Using WhatsApp messages forwarded to him by concerned parents, he was able to rescue many festival attendees who had fled to nearby fields.