by Douglas Altabef
It is only natural that those who hate Israel—from the halls of power to mobs in the street—will find validation, justification and even encouragement to intensify their efforts.
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Israel's Democrats Party leader Yair Golan holds a
press conference in Tel Aviv on May 20, 2025. Photo by Avshalom
Sassoni/Flash90. |
In the war that Israel has been beset with since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there are very few coincidences.
Consider the recent timeline: Within a matter of a few days after the tag team of condemnations by Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan and Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister, that the Israel Defense Forces are “killing babies as a hobby” (Golan) and that Israel “waging war without a purpose” that is “very close to a war crime” (Olmert), a mass shooting took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Two Israeli embassy employees were murdered, and others were injured.
The shooting is horrific, frightening and somewhat befuddling on its own. The shooting was outside of the museum, yet the issue of security was not mentioned. Supposedly, after the shooting, the murderer went inside the building and waited 10 minutes before he was apprehended.
So, yes, here was a murderer intent on killing Jews. Ultimately, however, we might well learn, perhaps in the aftermath, whether or not he was emboldened by statements made by a current and former Israeli leader.
One thing you can count on is that Hamas will reference these statements as further justification for their murderous deeds. It is just too tempting to resist.
After all, when the leader of one of the Jewish parties in the Knesset—a former general himself—condemns the actions of soldiers in the most horrific, gratuitous manner, it is a virtual certainty that this will find its way into their propaganda playbook.
And when a former prime minister of Israel likens its wartime conduct as being “without a purpose” and coming “very close to a war crime,” it is only natural to expect that those who hate Israel—from the halls of power to mobs in the street—will find validation, justification and even encouragement to intensify their efforts.
What is particularly galling about this shamefulness is that it’s motivated by a crass political agenda: When it comes to vilifying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all paths are open, and anything and everything is appropriate.
Yes, there was widespread condemnation of Golan’s horrific statements by other parties in the opposition. But the damage was already done. The soundbite was uttered, and it traveled around the world before there could be much reaction to it.
What Golan did was in the spirit of Israeli academics whose careers are faltering. And so they leave Israel, start bashing it abroad and suddenly find themselves to be sought-after figures.
Similarly, when Breaking the Silence or B’Tselem appears before the European Parliament, or some other international body, as Israelis to condemn Israel, they are treated as highly credible witnesses.
It is called validating Israeli guilt by virtue of one’s Israeli status. After all. Golan is a former vice chief of staff of the IDF. He must be intimately aware of the IDF’s protocols, rules of engagement and overall conduct.
Olmert fought a war in Lebanon. He certainly knows how Israel conducts itself.
So, wittingly or otherwise, these two bashers have handed our enemies an exquisite indictment and therefore a rationale for continued unspeakable behavior. Rest assured, their statements will become chapter and verse evidence against Israel, and even worse, a justification for the “resistance.”
Will there be repercussions or consequences to all of this? It’s doubtful. Of course, if they were right-wing figures, the drumbeat for their incarceration would be incessant.
But their real punishment must come in the condemnation of their fellow Israelis. Who in their right mind would ever trust Golan to represent, let alone lead, Israel? Why give convicted criminal Olmert any credibility on anything?
“From those who are given much, much is expected.” This old maxim sounds incredibly quaint and anachronistic today. Now, those given much deserve more, including the right to opine as they see fit without any consideration for the larger implications of their pronouncements.
The fact that Golan is a serial indecent basher (his famous analogy of Israel to Nazi behavior on Holocaust Remembrance Day cost him the chairmanship of staff of the IDF) is not a reason to pooh-pooh or to contextualize his ongoing spite and vile.
Israel is paying, and will continue to pay, the price for the venomous statements of the likes of Golan and Olmert. When our leaders speak about a multifront war, they now have to add another: the insidious and toxic hatred from on high within.
There are challenges, and then there are challenges. The Quisling-like behavior of our prominent political figures is one that we can live without. Shame on them.
Douglas Altabef is chairman of the board of Im Tirtzu and a director of the Israel Independence Fund. He can be reached at: dougaltabef@gmail.com.
Source: https://www.jns.org/license-to-kill/
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