Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, stated that he seeks to form a government with Arab parties but rules out any political partnership with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as with the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties.
In an interview on Guy Katsovich's podcast, Golan said, “The Arab parties are, in my view, partners. The principle is very simple - any Arab leader who acknowledges that Israel is the national home of the Jewish people and at the same time must be a free, equal, and democratic state, is a partner as far as I’m concerned. What’s the problem?”
Golan added, “I don’t understand the principle of boycotting Arab parties. We sat with [United Arab List head] Mansour Abbas. He was a coalition member. Was that so terrible? It was excellent. He turned out to be an outstanding political partner. So why not?”
Regarding political partnership with Arab citizens of Israel, Golan said, “I oppose the idea of disqualifying an entire public. The Democrats party will be open to the Arab public. Anyone from the Arab sector who wishes to run is welcome. We have primaries, and I am certain there will be promising, serious candidates who are good for the State of Israel - not just for the Arab public - within our list.”
According to Golan, the Democrats party intends to build a political alliance with the Arab sector in order to defeat what he called “the fascist bloc,” asserting that “anyone who holds democratic views is a partner in my eyes.”
When asked to name which political figures he rules out for partnership, Golan responded: “I rule out only two. I disqualify Netanyahu, who in my view is the leader who destroyed the State of Israel and must bear personal responsibility for the October 7 disaster, and I disqualify the fascist parties of [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich. With them I will not sit.”