Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, sparked controversy over remarks he made at a conference about a month ago, which were republished Wednesday. Addressing the issue of Haredi conscription, Golan said, among other things, that the Haredi community is "a population of people that is uneducated."
"There is no issue that has fallen victim to cheap populism like the conscription of Haredim," Golan said. "It is impossible to draft all the Haredim tomorrow morning, even if there were an amazing law. We also wouldn't want to draft them all tomorrow morning, because we would not want to create an army that suddenly receives thousands of people in every draft cycle and has to establish gender-segregated conditions for them... In short, it's simply impractical."
He continued, "We also would not want such a population of people that is uneducated, lacks motivation, and lacks physical capability. It doesn't work that way. Haredi conscription is a process. Arab conscription is a process. The enlistment of Haredi women is a process."
According to Golan, if the state seeks to implement a model of universal national service, it must fundamentally restructure the entire system.
"If we truly believe that the guiding principle is that every young man and woman at the age of 18 or 19 should give at least one year of service to the state, then we need to reorganize the entire system," he said.
Golan added that he supports a variety of service tracks beyond the IDF.
"I support service in Magen David Adom, the Fire and Rescue Service, the Israel Police, the Prison Service, and hospitals-any framework that can be supervised and genuinely serves the public."
He also argued that annual draft-age cohorts continue to grow while, in his view, "the army will not grow in proportion to the size of those draft cohorts, and that is unreasonable."
Following the public backlash, Golan later issued a clarification.
"Service for everyone. Period," he wrote. "The prime minister of the draft-dodgers and the office under investigation in the Qatar affair continue to play with edited video clips. That's all they have left as their government collapses. In reality, they failed against Iran, failed in Gaza, failed in Lebanon, and passed draft-evasion laws that placed the entire burden on those who serve and on the reservists. Those who voted for draft evasion have no right to lecture us about service."
He added, "I served in the IDF for decades and was Deputy Chief of Staff. I say this as clearly as possible: service for everyone. Period. Recruitment according to the IDF's needs and capabilities. Anyone who does not serve in the IDF will perform full national service. No tricks, no exemptions, and no draft-evasion laws. Under us, everyone serves."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded sharply, saying: "Yair Golan is an Israel-hater, a self-hating antisemite who spreads racist blood libels against the Haredi sector. While he claims that Haredim are 'people without education or physical ability,' we have already recruited 1,400 Haredim into the Border Police, the Israel Police, and the national security services. As soon as the candidate lists are submitted, Otzma Yehudit will petition the Central Elections Committee to disqualify him from running because of his disgusting racism."