Yair Golan Advocates for Jewish-Arab Partnership in Government

Yair Golan, Chairman of the Democrats, stated in an interview on "Meet the Press" that he supports forming a government in partnership with Ra'am, the Arab Islamist party. He described Ra'am's former leader, Mansour Abbas, as a "good partner" in the previous Knesset, emphasizing that a Jewish-Arab partnership in government is beneficial for Israel. Golan believes such cooperation is crucial for Israel's future and rejects the idea that the Arab public is disqualified from participating in civic and political life.

Golan also addressed the process of selecting a prime ministerial candidate for the "change bloc" coalition, stating that a decision would be made collectively after the elections. He stressed the importance of presenting a united front with a single candidate to replace the current government, which he described as a "default and disaster." He also outlined his party's commitment to forming a "correction and rebuilding" government.

Regarding the future of the West Bank, Golan warned against annexing five million Palestinians, calling it the "liquidation of Israel." He proposed a strategic regional diplomatic move to ensure Israel's security and emphasized the need to resolve the conflict rather than merely manage it. He also called for fighting terrorism, establishing law and order in the West Bank, and removing illegal outposts.

Golan also touched upon security concerns, noting that he and Gadi Eisenkot have been assigned a threat level of four out of six by the Israel Police. He also addressed claims that certain campaign figures, like Gabi Lasky and Moshe Redman, are being sidelined, asserting that they are not being hidden and are actively involved in the party's activities.

In a critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Golan reiterated his earlier statement that the "real war" is against the government, not external enemies like Hezbollah or Hamas. He argued that Netanyahu endangers Israel's security by prioritizing personal and political interests over national security, leading to the failures of October 7th and hindering recovery efforts.