Who is afraid of Yair Golan? Here is everything that Yonatan Urich forgot to tell Likud voters | Sofi Ron Moriah
Do not get excited by the warnings or the declarations: even if the Democrats and their leader join any coalition after the elections, they will be prevented from dictating their political ideology, which supports a Palestinian state and the evacuation of settlements.
Some say that the confrontation that broke out this week between Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan is good for both, as party leaders sharpen ideological differences, re-awakening interest and attracting voters. Others argue that while it may benefit the parties, it harms the Zionist opposition as an alternative to the current government. Golan tends towards the first approach, Lieberman the second, while Likud intensifies its periodic disqualification campaign. The goal: to strip any potential coalition partner of their political fitness. Initially, the Likud campaign focused on Mansour Abbas, with the message: "The opposition has no government without Ra'am, so the alternative to the Netanyahu bloc is an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood."
Forget the paradox where a functionary who enjoyed Qatari money for years preaches against a coalition with an Arab party that his own boss nurtured as a political partner (until Bezalel Smotrich sabotaged the plan). Forget the puzzling math where 58 or 59 is less than 52 or 50. If the opposition is short a mandate or two, the Netanyahu bloc, according to the same polls, is short 10-11. To reach 61, Bibi needs not only Abbas but also Tibi. That is what happens when you oppose core curriculum studies.
Recently, Zionist opposition parties have stabilized at 60 mandates, with a dynamic toward 61 and above. The slogan "You have no government without Mansour Abbas" has been replaced in Yonatan Urich's workshop with "You have no government without Yair Golan." The argument follows: the Democrats party advocates for a Palestinian state and the evacuation of settlements. Therefore, any government with Yair Golan is a left-wing government that will act to evacuate settlements.
What, really? What are you saying, Urich! A thrilling discovery. You just forgot that it was your boss who established a Palestinian state—not in Judea and Samaria, but in Gaza. It was he who raised his hand three times in the government and the Knesset in favor of the destruction of Gush Katif settlements while he was Finance Minister. Yair Golan had not yet joined politics then.
A lesson in civics
Israel is a parliamentary democracy. A party chairman who recruits a majority in the Knesset forms a government based on coalition agreements. This is the system.
A quick Google search reveals that the basic guidelines of the Bennett-Lapid government contained 30 clauses, none of which mentioned a Palestinian state or a commitment to a political process. This was the coalition where Labor and Meretz—the parties that merged into the Democrats under Yair Golan—sat.
Furthermore, Labor's principles did not prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from sitting with them in a coalition in 2009–2011. In 2013, Netanyahu's first choice for a partner was Tzipi Livni's Hatnua faction, which consistently advocated for a Palestinian state and received the Justice portfolio. In 2020, Netanyahu formed a government with Benny Gantz and Amir Peretz, the Labor chairman, who did not renounce his political doctrine.
A lesson in cooking
It is recommended to add a drop of vinegar to a dish to polish it, but a whole bottle will ruin it. In the Rabin-Peres government, Meretz was the main ingredient that forced the Oslo Accords on the state. Conversely, in the previous government, Labor and Meretz compromised on their political aspirations in favor of the coalition's common denominator, focusing on civil issues.
Today, the Haredi factions are the determining component of the government. Since 2019, they have painted the Likud-led bloc in black. The current government is all vinegar: a sharp fundamentalist smell, with fat chunks of draft dodging, gender segregation, and blatant looting of taxpayer money. Netanyahu allowed the Haredi parties to manage the coalition.
A government based on the opposition parties would be a right-wing, center-right, and center coalition. Yair Golan's party would be one-sixth of it. A minority party can demand portfolios, but it is prevented from dictating policy. Golan will have to focus on civil issues where he can reach agreements. There is no significant group in Israeli society today, even among opposition voters, that supports a Palestinian state. Golan knows this. His slogans are just talk, just as Ben Gvir's slogans about transfer are.
But you know what? Likud voters don't want to see Yair Golan in the government? The ball is in their court. They can vote for right-wing parties in the opposition to give the right and center-right a majority without Golan. They can instruct their representatives to join the government formed after the elections and replace Golan. Let them stop boycotting any coalition not headed by Netanyahu. It's that simple.
