Yair Golan is an Israeli politician and retired Israel Defense Forces major general who has led the Democrats party since 2024. He previously served as deputy chief of the IDF General Staff, a member of the Knesset, and deputy minister of economy.
Golan was born and raised in Rishon LeZion. His father’s family fled Nazi Germany for Mandatory Palestine in 1935. Golan earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Tel Aviv University and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. He also attended the IDF Command and Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.
Golan enlisted in the IDF in 1980 and joined the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the 1982 Lebanon War and subsequently held a series of infantry and command positions. He commanded the 890th Paratroopers Battalion, the Nahal Brigade, the 91st Division, and the Judea and Samaria Division. He was wounded during an encounter with Hezbollah in Lebanon in the 1990s. Golan later commanded the Home Front Command from 2008 to 2011 and the Northern Command from 2011 to 2014. He became deputy chief of staff in December 2014, completed the assignment in 2017, and retired from active service in 2018.
While commanding the Judea and Samaria Division, Golan was formally reprimanded in 2007 for authorizing the “prior warning” procedure, in which Palestinian civilians were sent to urge wanted suspects to surrender. Israel’s Supreme Court had prohibited the practice. Golan later defended his conduct, arguing that it reduced danger to both soldiers and Palestinians.
As deputy chief of staff, Golan generated controversy in a 2016 Holocaust Remembrance Day speech. He warned of “revolting processes” that had occurred in Europe, particularly Germany, decades earlier and said signs of them could be found in Israeli society. Critics interpreted the remarks as comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Golan clarified that he had not intended such a comparison but continued to defend his call for moral self-examination.
After leaving the military, Golan entered politics in 2019 through former Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s Israel Democratic Party and was elected to the Knesset as part of the Democratic Union. He subsequently joined Meretz and served as deputy economy minister in the Bennett-Lapid government from 2021 to 2022. He left the Knesset after Meretz failed to cross the electoral threshold in the November 2022 election.
On October 7, 2023, Golan independently drove to southern Israel, obtained a rifle from an army base, and helped evacuate survivors of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival. His actions received widespread public praise and raised his political profile.
Golan won the Labor Party leadership in May 2024 with 95% of the vote. He then led the union of Labor and Meretz under the name “The Democrats,” a Zionist, liberal, and social-democratic party. Golan supports separating from the Palestinians through a two-state arrangement while retaining Israel’s ability to act against security threats.
His blunt language has continued to provoke criticism. In 2022, he called people involved in violence and grave vandalism near the Homesh outpost “subhuman,” later expressing regret for the term while defending his underlying criticism. In May 2025, he said that a “sane country” does not wage war against civilians, “kill babies as a hobby,” or seek population expulsion. After condemnation from coalition and opposition figures, Golan said he was criticizing extremist government politicians, not IDF soldiers, and stated that Israel did not kill children for sport. As of 2026, he remained chairman of the Democrats and headed the party’s electoral slate.
Sources: “The Democrats,” IDI.
“Yair Golan,” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jeffrey Heller, “Israeli General Assailed for Nazi Comparison on Holocaust Memorial Day,” Reuters, (May 5, 2016).
“Deputy Minister Says He Regrets ‘Subhuman’ Settlers Comment, but Stands by Criticism,” Times of Israel, (January 6, 2022).
Emily Rose, “Hero of Oct. 7 Aims to Revive Israel’s Moribund Left,” Reuters, (July 11, 2024).
“Israeli Politician Critiques the Gaza War’s Toll on Palestinians and Sparks an Outcry,” AP, (May 20, 2025).
Photo: Shlomi Amsalem / Knesset Archives, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.