Yair Golan Rebukes Candidate After Controversial Remarks About Religious Soldiers

Democratic Party leader Yair Golan publicly distanced himself on Sunday from remarks made by activist and party primaries candidate Naor Narkis, after the comments triggered an uproar. Narkis, who describes himself as a secular activist seeking to secularize Jewish society and often posts against religious and ultra-Orthodox people, said fighters from the religious Zionist community had fallen at high rates in the war because they did not do full military service like secular Israelis.

In an interview with journalist Naveh Drori on i24NEWS, Narkis argued that if those soldiers had served a full term, “maybe they would not have fallen so much.” He said hesder yeshiva soldiers serve shortened service, unlike other fighters, and therefore do not gain enough battlefield experience. He added that religious soldiers are “the most draft-dodging sector except for the ultra-Orthodox,” and compared a soldier with one and a half years of service to a soldier with three years, saying the latter is more experienced.

The comments sparked harsh criticism. Former minister and lawmaker Matan Kahana said it was “despicable” to speak that way about religious Zionist fighters who gave their lives in battle, and urged Democratic Party and Meretz voters not to bring such “baseness” into the list. He also said he hoped Golan would personally condemn the remarks.

In response to a Ynet inquiry, Golan said fallen soldiers “do not need to justify themselves to anyone,” noting that they answered the call, carried Israel’s security on their shoulders, and did their part to the end. He said there are no sector labels on the battlefield, only IDF fighters, and that linking a political dispute to the sacrifice of those who died in combat is “wrong” and does not reflect his values or those of the party. Golan added that debates over Israeli society and burden-sharing should continue, but not in cemeteries, and called for humility, respect, gratitude, and support for bereaved families.