JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The leader of the Democrats party in Israel, Yair Golan, is known as a straight shooter who doesn’t mince words. Golan has never concealed his distaste both for Charedim and settlers, and last year even declared that the state should be encouraging charedim to secularize, a statement which angered the entire religious world in Israel.
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In a televised interview this week, Golan stressed that there is no need for Torah scholars who receive draft exemptions, surprising even the anchor who questioned whether he had heard him right.
יאיר גולן (שאמור להוביל את המפלגה הגדולה ביותר בגוש השמאל אחרי הבחירות) אומר:
אין צורך בלומדי תורה pic.twitter.com/6KYi7sUZhh
— יקי אדמקר (@YakiAdamker) November 29, 2025
Golan currently represents the largest political party on Israel’s left, with polls giving him 11 Knesset seats, ahead of Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman and Benny Gantz. If his statements represent his constituency, it means that the left wing in Israel has totally disassociated with the agreements reached by Shimon Peres, the former director-general of the Defense Ministry who engineered the original exemption of Torah students from military service.
Far from being willing to make politically expedient agreements with the charedi parties which might enable the left to form a government, Golan has effectively declared war on charedi ideology and refuses to accept any possible exemption for yeshiva students, a position even more extreme than Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who in the past has expressed willingness to allow for “Torah geniuses” to be exempted. Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman, although also expressing his reservations on charedi exemptions, provided hundreds of such exemptions when he served as Defense Minister.
Golan however insists that everyone must enlist, and that no funding can be given to those who continue their studies. Ironically when Golan himself was Deputy Economic Affairs minister in the Bennett-Lapid government, he stated that he was opposed to forcible drafting of Charedim. Is it possible that even Golan is willing to temper his opposition when he is in power? The current Golan statements appear too extreme, too bellicose for him to reach any compromise, but politics can make strange bedfellows and even Golan could be forced to change his tune if he wants to remain relevant in Israel’s political climate.
And I would dare say “Am Yisroel has no need for Yair Golan”.
Let him go live in N.Y., there he can serve as an advisor to mandani- YM”S
This guy is the biggest enemy of the people that exists, even families of lost soldiers and hostages hate his guts for the disgusting horrible things he said. We shouldn’t be giving him any honor now when he’s on the side of Hamas
A born loser
Rabbi Akiva also did not appreciate talmidei chochim before he became one. May Mr. Golan go learn Torah and have a better appreciation for Torah learning.
Lol
There is no need for people like you who don’t understand/ appreciate the value of learning.
Is his mother Jewish or arab?
When there was a draft in the United States, students—including yeshiva students—were exempt, period. This is something taken for granted even in non-Jewish countries. Whether “Chareidim” who are not full-time yeshiva students should be exempt is an entirely separate question. If they do choose to serve, the army should be obligated to provide them with conditions that do not compromise their religious standards. It is, after all, a Jewish country.
I also wonder what Yair Golan’s reaction would be if his own son were in the army and placed among religious soldiers in an environment where everyone was expected to adhere to religious standards.
They always go after bochurim soon after some losers harass Charaidi soldiers davening in Meah Shearim or elsewhere, mida kneged mida.
There is no change in Golan’s position. He says that everyone should serve. He is not interested in wasting resources forcibly drafting those who refuse to be drafted. That would be a waste of time, energy, and money. Further, the army does not want soldiers who will not cooperate and obey orders. Golan will simply make life impossible for the Haredim: no funding, no free facilities for the children of Haredim, no driving licenses, no passports etc. etc. If you want a passport to go see your Rebbe, you will have to enlist. A passport will literally become a privilege, not a right.
It is good for us to see how crazy the ultra extremist left are. Hopefully he will lose big in next elections.
vinnews sounds pretty parve on this report- they almost sound pro him
The State of Israel is not a Jewish country. That is a fiction spouted by the zionists. It is a country with a large number of Religious Yidden who wield power commensurate to their numbers. Because that is a minority, you can still travel on Shabbos, buy treif food, and be legally married to a shiksa. None of that fits in with the idea of a Jewish country.
There is no need for yair golan even if he is in yeshiva
I said this on another thread and I’ll say it again. There’s exactly zero point getting angry and this man. A person can choose to be guided by “tov” or “ra”. Tov means to live one’s life with an awareness of the Divine. Ra means to live in darkness (materialism, false value, misguided ambitions, etc). When someone is r”l in the latter, should it surprise anyone that they would make this sort of statement?
This man is a dangerous fascist. Only a crushing electoral defeat will put him in his place.
Who needs Hamas when we have this turd
Prayer is serving one’s nation. National pride has no place before Hashem.
This is our fault.
Why is there a Yid who knows so little about Torah that he says things like this? Why haven’t we reached him yet? What are we doing to ensure that less people think like him?
אפרא לפומיה
Jews were in the Holy Land long before the Zionists invaded and we will be there after they are gone. Our holy tzaddikim and gedolim were humble dhimmis for centuries. Much better than under the apikorsim.
Golan is absolutely right (except for the truly gifted). I’d vote for him in a heartbeat
There’s no need for eretz yisroel without Shabbos, Torah, and mitzvos. My father served in Lebanon & was nearly killed. He didn’t serve for chilul Shabbos.
He just condemned himself to death
I will start this by clearly stating that I do not live in Israel .My personal feelings on this matter is that there is a need for torah learning, however not all of the Bachurim are made for this and not all of them with waivers are doing it full time. For those who are not quite a perfect fit for torah scholarship and not doing it Full Time, they should be required to serve either national services of the tzachal.
The man is right. There is no excuse not to serve. But at the same time he is a fool. There is no way the charedin will serve and he needs to face the reality even if he is right. He also a fool because how do you integrate a toldas aron or gera anyhow
I think that all benefits that are currently being given to Yeshivas of military age bochrim should be rerouted and given as benefits for soldiers who are currently and who have served. Nothing against my Chareidi brethren but what’s fair is fair.
Yesuas hashem kiherev eyin.