On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day last week, a top Israeli general gave a speech saying he saw "revolting trends" in today's Israel that he compared to Nazi-era Germany and Europe in the 1930s.
No surprise - this has created a big stir in Israel, flaring again Sunday.
In his address, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, essentially the No. 2 man in the army, warned his fellow citizens, "There is nothing easier than to hate those who are different; there is nothing easier than to sow fear and terror; there is nothing easier than to behave like animals."
His speech comes amid revelations that an Israeli soldier shot and killed a wounded Palestinian attacker in the head, an act that human rights activists called a street execution and that Israeli military prosecutors called manslaughter.
Many Israelis, however, called the soldier a hero. After Sgt. Elor Azaria was charged, thousands of Israelis rallied at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to praise his actions and demand he be released. Some of the crowd shouted, "Death to Arabs!" and harassed journalists.
The general's speech may have sparked reflection in some sectors, but mostly it inspired criticism - and calls for his head.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in, denouncing the speech as "outrageous" and "unfounded." Netanyahu said the general "cheapened" the Holocaust, during which 6 million European Jews were slaughtered by the Germans and their abettors.
Israel's culture and sports minister, Miri Regev, said Golan should resign. "It cannot be that the deputy chief of staff, a uniform-wearing officer, be a part of the delegitimization against Israel," Regev said, according to Israeli media accounts.
What did the general actually say?
Speaking at a ceremony at the Massuah Institute for Holocaust Studies, Golan said:
[The Holocaust] must make us think deeply about the responsibility of leadership, the quality of society, and it must lead us to fundamental thinking about how we, here and now, treat the stranger, the orphan and the widow, and all who are like them.
The Haaretz columnist Chemi Shalev wrote of the general, "It's hard for me to tell whether he's brave or stupid or possibly both."
Shalev wrote:
"Golan's foolhardiness has become obvious since his bracing Holocaust Day speech on Wednesday at Kibbutz Tel Yitzhak, in which he refrained from casting Israeli society as an eternal victim but warned against the increasing intolerance that could turn it into a potential perpetrator as well. I am assuming that Golan knew that his words would be made public, that he was cognizant of the tremors of shock they would send throughout Israel and parts of the Jewish world, especially on such a sensitive day, and that he was fully aware that within the space of a few hours he would become public enemy no. 1 for Israeli right wingers and self-styled Jewish patriots abroad. If he didn't know, he's an idiot, if he did and went ahead nonetheless then he's a fool, career-wise at least, but more of a hero as well."
This is not the first time in recent months that Israeli military brass have found themselves criticized by Israel's hard right.
The military's chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, was castigated after he said, during a meeting with high school students, that he does not "want a soldier to empty a magazine on a girl with scissors," referring to soldiers who fire several bullets into Palestinian attackers, including teenagers.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon similarly was criticized by his right flank after he said those who back the soldier who shot the Palestinian in the head "don't back our laws and values."
The leader of Israel's opposition, Yitzhak Herzog, called Golan courageous.
Herzog wrote:
"The lunatics who will now start to scream against him need to know: This is what morality and responsibility sound like. We won't be fazed by the cries and the insults, and we will continue to support the IDF and its commanders. Always."
It is probably worth noting that the day after Golan gave his speech, he issued a statement in which he walked back his remarks, saying he had not meant to compare Israel to Nazi Germany, nor to criticize the current leadership, nor the Israel Defense Forces, "a moral army that respects the rules of engagement and protects human dignity."
Author Note: William Booth is The Post’s Jerusalem bureau chief. He was previously bureau chief in Mexico, Los Angeles and Miami.
The Washington Post
Mon May 09 2016
Yair Golan's speech came amid revelations that an Israeli soldier shot and killed a wounded Palestinian attacker in the head.
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).
Penduduk Israel tunjuk perasaan desak PM Netanyahu letak jawatan
Majoriti penunjuk perasaan mengibarkan bendera sambil membawa sepanduk mengkritik kepimpinan Netanyahu berhubung isu-isu penting.
Netanyahu cuba halang gencatan senjata - Hamas
Hamas menggesa pengantara untuk campur tangan dan menghentikan "manipulasi dan jenayah" oleh Netanyahu.
Ribuan warga Israel gesa pilihan raya baharu
Demonstrasi yang dilakukan hampir setiap minggu itu bagaimanapun masih belum mengubah landskap politik atau menjatuhkan Netanyahu.
Usaha gencatan senjata, bebas tebusan dapat momentum
Pejabat Netanyahu bagaimanapun memaklumkan, masih terdapat jurang antara kedua-dua pihak.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Israel hampir musnahkan Hamas sepenuhnya - Netanyahu
Kata Netanyahu, pihaknya kini menuju ke fasa akhir menghapuskan pejuang Hamas.
Netanyahu ikrar akan terus berperang hingga Hamas dihapus
Beliau juga menuduh Hamas sebagai satu-satunya halangan kepada pembebasan tebusan yang masih ditahan di Gaza.
Erdogan label Netanyahu sebagai sakit mental
Erdogan mendakwa Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu berusaha meluaskan konflik di Gaza ke Lubnan dalam satu langkah.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Konflik Israel dengan Hamas akan berakhir, namun perang diteruskan, kata Benjamin Netanyahu
PM Israel beri peringatan, perang tidak akan berakhir sehingga Hamas tidak lagi menguasai wilayah Palestin.