The leader of the Israeli Democratic Party and former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, Yair Golan, made a statement to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), on May 20, which shocked Israelis and sparked a storm of debate about the Israeli army’s conduct in the Gaza Strip. However, Golan later clarified that he had not criticised the army, but rather the Israeli government, which issues orders to the military.
Among many things Golan said, which shocked Israelis, was his accusation that killing children was a pastime for Israel. He said, “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill children for a hobby, and does not aim at displacing the population.” He considered the current government “full of people who lack intelligence and morals and are incapable of running a country during a state of emergency.” Netanyahu described Golan’s statements as incitement against IDF soldiers “who are fighting for Israel’s existence,” according to the Hebrew website stmegi, which covers Caucasian Jewish affairs. Golan’s statement came against the backdrop of Operation Gideon, an expansion of the war on Gaza. The operation has raised questions about its implications, objectives and effectiveness, as well as the threat of further international isolation and criticism directed at Israel from “friendly” countries threatening to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
On May 22, the Russian-language Israeli website MigNews quoted the Israeli ambassador to the European Union as saying, “Our relations with European countries are being destroyed.” Ambassador Haim Regev denied the existence of a tsunami in the deterioration of European Israeli relations. However, he warned Israeli journalists of a process of “diplomatic erosion” between Israel and Europe, and other problems in Israeli public diplomacy with the continent, according to sources on the Israeli Walla website. These sources quoted the ambassador as saying that the Foreign Ministry is conducting an intensive diplomatic campaign. However, he acknowledged that sympathy for Israel is waning as the war in Gaza continues.
A week before the Eurovision Song Contest, in which Israel participates annually, the Israeli website All Israel News published a piece noting that more than 70 former contestants in the challenge called for a boycott of Israel because of the Gaza war. The demand was contained in a petition signed by former participants addressed to the competition organisers. They also demanded that the Israeli Kan news channel be excluded from participating in the competition, which was held in Switzerland in mid-May.
Sametime, the Russian-language Israeli website Detaly quoted the far-right Minister of Heritage and Jerusalem Affairs, Amichai Eliyahu, as holding Yair Golan responsible for the terrorist attack in Washington. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, he stated, “Yair Golan’s thirst for blood resonates with Nazis and Israel-haters around the world. We are paying the price for this now in the form of a deadly terrorist attack in Washington, and history teaches us that we will pay more in the future.” Addressing Golan, he said, “Yair Golan, the blood of the embassy staff is on your hands and the hands of your friends.”
Minister Avichai Eliyahu sparked a wave of anger against Israel at the beginning of the Gaza War when he declared that one option for resolving the problem was to drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, said the website.
Vesty, the Russian-language Israeli website affiliated with the Yedioth Ahronoth group, published an article on May 21 in which the author examined the threat of sanctions looming over Israel due to the war in Gaza. He warned that the price Israel would pay could exceed the worst expectations.
The author quotes the renowned Israeli economist Dan Ben-David as saying that the economic sanctions Western countries are threatening to impose on Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip may not only cost Israel billions of dollars in losses but could also deal a blow to the Jewish state’s security by significantly reducing its defensive capabilities.
[by Bassam Mekdad in Al-Modon]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque
