Yair Golan

Yair Golan
Born 1962
Rishon LeZion, Israel
Allegiance Israel Israel
Years of service 1980–
Rank Aluf
Commands held Israeli Northern Command
Battles/wars

Aluf Yair Golan (Hebrew: יאיר גולן‎‎) is a general in the Israel Defense Forces and currently the Deputy Chief of General Staff.

Timeline of career[1]

Holocaust Day Speech

Golan made a speech on Holocaust Day in 2016 in which some say he draw a parallel between Germany in the 1930s and current day Israel, by saying "If there is one thing that is scary in remembering the Holocaust, it is noticing horrific processes which developed in Europe – particularly in Germany – 70, 80, and 90 years ago, and finding remnants of that here (in Israel) among us in the year 2016." He recognized that sometimes Israeli soldiers were harsh in dealing with Palestinians, and he highlighted the example of Sergeant Elor Azaria being tried over a Hebron shooting incident as evidence that the IDF investigates itself and has high moral standards.[2] His comments drew significant criticism on social media, with Twitter users accusing Golan of "forgetting the lessons of the Holocaust."[3] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the comments "outrageous" and said they "do injustice to Israeli society and create contempt for the Holocaust." Culture Minister Miri Regev called for his resignation, while opposition leader Isaac Herzog praised Golan for exhibiting "morality and responsibility."[4] Later Golan retracted and said that he did not intend to compare Israel to Nazi Germany, releasing a statement in which he said "It is an absurd and baseless comparison and I had no intention whatsoever to draw any sort of parallel or to criticise the national leadership. The IDF is a moral army that respects the rules of engagement and protects human dignity."[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Major General Yair Golan, GOC Homefront Command". Israel Defense Forces. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  2. ↑ "Top IDF officer Yair Golan compares modern Israel to 1930s Germany in bombshell speech". International Business Times. 2016-05-05.
  3. ↑ "IDF general in bombshell speech: Israel today shows signs of 1930s Germany". Jerusalem Post. 2016-05-04.
  4. ↑ "Netanyahu upbraids top general for 'outrageous' Shoah comparison". Times of Israel. 2016-05-08.
  5. ↑ "Israeli military chief backtracks from 1930s Germany comparison". The Guardian. 2016-05-05.


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