Is Israeli left-wing party leader guilty of incitement?

Yair Golan has a long history of making incendiary remarks, including referring to settlers as “subhuman.”

By World Israel News Staff

Activists are asking why a far-left politician, who is now the head of Israel’s largest left-wing party, is not being investigated for comments he made which could be considered criminal incitement under Israeli law.

Yair Golan has a long history of making incendiary remarks towards those who are not aligned with his ideological views, including referring to settlers as “subhuman.”

In a recording that was leaked to the media in May, Golan is heard suggesting that reserve soldiers avoid serving in the army for political reasons, saying they should shirk duty until new elections are declared.

“The smallest threat of civil disobedience put [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu under crazy pressure. Why don’t we make much more extensive use of it?” Golan said.

He explained that “civil disobedience is, for example: ‘We do not [show up to] reserve [duty] until this government changes.’”

Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said at the time that he was ordering a probe into the remarks, as they could constitute incitement.

On July 21st, the State Prosecutor’s office released a statement claiming that Golan’s remarks are being probed, but did not provide a time frame regarding when a decision would be made to charge him criminally or clear him.

But Golan should be investigated for earlier remarks as well, as he called for military refusal from both reservists and new recruits mutliple times in 2023.

“Last year, we recognized and warned of the great damage caused by the phenomenon of refusal to the security of the state,” said Yehuda Wald, CEO of the Religious Zionist party, told Hebrew-language news site Kipa.

“Unfortunately, the ombudsman chose not to take any action to deal with the incitement to refusal, including from members of the public, despite our many requests which arose out of a genuine concern for the security of the country and the integrity of the army.”