Transcript [00:02] Welcome to Waiting for 61, JTA's Israel [00:05] election podcast, where we break down [00:07] the fundamentals of Israel's 2026 [00:09] elections, the politics, the players, [00:11] and what's at stake as the country heads [00:13] to the walls. I'm Ammy Eden, CEO and [00:16] executive editor of Semipases Media, the [00:19] organization behind the Jewish polling [00:20] bracket. [00:21] >> And I'm Ruth Eglash, JTA's senior Israel [00:25] correspondent. Today marks five days [00:27] until the Israelis cast their votes. [00:30] >> One note before we begin. Every Friday [00:32] we'll be answering questions from you, [00:34] our listeners. So if something sparks [00:36] your curiosity or there's an aspect of [00:38] Israeli politics you'd like us to [00:40] explain, send us your questions to [00:41] waiting for61jta.org. [00:46] Okay, let's get into it. Ruth, today [00:49] we're going to talk about Yer Gwan and [00:51] the Democrats. And again, that that [00:53] sentence might be a little confusing for [00:57] some of our listeners because yes, [01:00] Israel now officially has Democrats. [01:03] >> Actually, they're not Democrats. In [01:04] Israel, we say Democratim. So, you have [01:07] to say it correctly. Democratim. So, [01:10] they are a party that were forged [01:12] basically out of two parties, two [01:15] left-wing parties. Labor, which is like [01:17] the traditional historic social [01:21] democratic party in Israel, and Meritz, [01:23] which was a a left-wing party that was [01:26] focused on civil rights and a two-state [01:29] solution with the Palestinians. And [01:31] basically in 2022, [01:33] merits did not pass the threshold um to [01:36] get into the Knesset, even though it's [01:38] been around since the 1990s. Um but uh [01:41] you know their issues were becoming less [01:43] uh less you know interesting or less uh [01:47] you know capturing for Israeli for the [01:50] Israeli voters and merits failed to [01:53] cross the threshold and labor which is [01:55] like this the traditional Labor party in [01:57] Israel was one of the dominant parties [01:59] for many many decades um and um even [02:03] headed at one point by uh President [02:05] Isaac Herzog um failed to uh get many [02:09] seats got only four seats and was kind [02:12] of obliterated [02:14] and uh everyone said well that's the end [02:16] of the left in Israel um it's never [02:18] going to be revived and then Yer Golan [02:21] who who was in the was in the merits [02:23] party and had not got into the Knesset [02:25] in 2022 came along and he said we're [02:28] going to unite the two parties they'd [02:30] wanted to do it before the 2022 election [02:32] and the head of the Labour party at that [02:35] time Miraov Meli said no way and um That [02:40] was their downfall basically. And then [02:42] in the end, Y Golan came along. He said, [02:44] uh, I'm going to unite the two factions [02:47] so that we have a much better, you know, [02:49] chance to get in in the next election. [02:51] And that's exactly what he did in 2024. [02:54] He united the two parties and they've [02:57] been running on this joint slate um [02:59] right up until this election. And they [03:02] basically stand for, you know, an a [03:04] mixture of those things. you know, they [03:06] they stand for um you know, social [03:10] rights and uh democratic rights and [03:13] they're very, you know, left-leaning [03:15] party in a very traditional sense. [03:17] That's where they are today. [03:19] >> In terms of several other issues I think [03:21] are top of mind for many of our [03:22] listeners, um they're also leftwing and [03:26] most notably probably more left than a [03:29] bunch of the other opposition parties. [03:32] um Yayer Golan and the party stand [03:34] squarely behind a two-state solution as [03:38] the absolute goal of the Israeli [03:40] Palestinian conflict even if they say [03:42] well it's a long-term process we have to [03:45] first emphasize separation then security [03:47] guarantees a gradual process so it might [03:50] be they may have slowed down after [03:52] October 7th but they're squarely for a [03:54] two-state solution they're going to be [03:57] strongly opposed to certain you know [03:59] certain funding for um settlement an [04:02] outpost. And perhaps most immediately, [04:05] they advocate for bringing Ram, the [04:08] traditionalist [04:09] Islamic Arab party into the coalition, [04:13] just like Bennett and Laid had done last [04:15] time. But post October 7th, a lot of the [04:19] other opposition parties are saying they [04:21] don't want Rahm in the in the coalition [04:23] and Yaan's advocating. So those are [04:26] several issues where they are certainly [04:28] leftwing compared to some of their other [04:30] potential cultures. [04:31] >> I mean I mean Ya Laid has also advocated [04:34] for a two-state solution and but he has [04:37] also kind of slowed it down since [04:39] October 7th and said you know we can't [04:41] uh you know rush into this. We have to [04:43] make sure we have security which is [04:45] something that Golam emphasizes as well [04:47] because he has a military background and [04:49] we'll talk about that in a second but he [04:51] emphasizes security. He emphasizes, you [04:54] know, removing Hamas from Gaza. In our [04:57] episode yesterday, um our guest spoke [04:59] about how his number three on the list, [05:02] which is Rabbi Gilad Kariv, talked about [05:05] maintaining a military presence in the [05:07] Jordan Valley, which is kind of a [05:08] strategic strip that runs along the [05:11] border with Jordan. So, you know, there [05:13] there are um some similarities on that [05:16] issue anyway between them and uh Yer [05:20] Laid's uh faction or Yeshid faction. [05:23] >> I mean, what's certainly true is he's [05:25] probably even while they are left in the [05:29] Israeli context. [05:31] Um, they're probably the Democrat [05:34] Democrat team in Israel are probably to [05:38] the right of a lot of Democrats in [05:41] America right now. [05:42] >> I mean, I I think, you know, we we [05:43] talked to also about this before that [05:45] the, you know, the the part the party is [05:47] is more than just the leader and there's [05:50] some very interesting uh, you know, [05:52] candidates on the Democratim list. Um, I [05:55] mentioned Gilead Kariv. He's uh the [05:58] first reformed rabbi to be ordained in [06:01] Israel. He has you know very liberal [06:04] views very much identifying I guess with [06:07] uh a large portion of of American [06:10] jewelry who are you know reformed Jews. [06:12] Um you have Nama Lazimi who is known for [06:15] being much more left of her party. So [06:19] you know you know Golan doesn't speak [06:21] for everyone in the party and the party [06:24] is a it's a faction. It's not a one [06:26] party is still two distinct factions. [06:29] You still have labor and merit. So I [06:31] don't know some of the other candidates [06:33] very well but they are probably also [06:36] there are some who are a bit more even [06:38] more left than uh than Lannon and and I [06:41] mean we've also spoken about the [06:43] sensitivity here since October 7th. you [06:46] know, it's not easy to promote this idea [06:49] of making peace only three years after [06:52] um this, you know, horrific uh terrorist [06:54] attack. So, and and the war and all the [06:57] other security matters that are uh are [07:00] at stake. So, you know, he has to kind [07:02] of draw this fine line between holding [07:05] certain views and promoting them. and [07:07] he's promoting they've they are [07:09] promoting much more um about the issue [07:12] of Israeli democracy and the character [07:14] of Israel and religious secular divide [07:17] you know making sure that this country [07:19] stays like a liberal democracy or [07:21] becomes a liberal democracy. When you [07:23] talk about getting their campaign [07:25] message out and being a democracy and [07:27] every voice counts and every vote [07:29] counts, one might think that means [07:31] they're campaigning all over the country [07:33] um to voters all over the country, but [07:35] that's not that's not really the case, [07:37] right? Like they are um a pretty Tel [07:41] Aviv based uh party. [07:43] >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean I think you know even [07:44] when when you look at the demographics [07:46] of Israel um you know Tel Aiv is this [07:49] for those of you who have been there you [07:50] know it's like this uber liberal uh [07:53] trendy young kind of city uh it's very [07:55] you know LGBTQ friendly um unlike other [07:59] parts of the country where you have you [08:02] know a large ultra orthodox population [08:04] or a large uh conservative kind of [08:07] traditional population and I'll say one [08:10] more thing is that the fact that they [08:12] focus on Tel a Viv on the on the on the [08:14] country of Tel a Viv. Um it was was [08:18] actually I think Labour's downfall [08:20] Labour and Merit's downfall in the last [08:22] election in 2022 that they kind of got [08:25] into this bubble and forgot about all [08:27] the other parts of the country. And you [08:30] know there's one more thing I'd like to [08:31] say Ammy and that is that um you know [08:34] before October 7th the kibbutim the the [08:38] communities along the Gaza periphery [08:40] were known for being very leftwing very [08:44] uh pro peace doing all sorts of you know [08:47] um work with NOS's to bring uh [08:50] Palestinians to uh into Israel for [08:52] medical treatment and since October 7th [08:55] that kind of view has kind of damp [08:57] become dampened You mentioned October [09:00] 7th. [09:01] One of the interesting things about Yer [09:04] Galan is sort of the contrast of what he [09:07] did on October 7th on the one hand. Um, [09:11] and why don't you tell us a little bit [09:12] about that, but then sort of how he's [09:15] been sort of a he he's a hero on October [09:18] 7th [09:20] and then has become, you know, arguably [09:23] the the the strongest critic of Israel's [09:26] war effort in Gaza post October 7th. Um, [09:30] certainly amongst the Zionist parties. [09:33] >> Yeah. So, you know, Yer Golan is a [09:36] retired general. He was deputy chief of [09:39] staff. He served in the IDF for like [09:42] nearly 40 years. And uh on October 7th [09:45] when he started hearing reports of what [09:47] was happening, he didn't I mean and this [09:49] was this is the same story for quite a [09:50] few uh ex generals. I mean I don't know [09:53] how many you know but there's a famous [09:54] story of Noam Tibon who uh went uh down [09:58] to the south. There's a film about him [09:59] on Paramount. I recommend it. Um but [10:02] Yolan is much of a similar story. On [10:04] October 7th he took out his old army [10:07] uniform. He brushed off the dust. He put [10:10] it on, it still fit him, which I don't [10:12] think is true for many uh ex-Israeli [10:14] generals. And he rushed down to southern [10:17] Israel. And he worked, you know, he he [10:20] was getting messages from friends and [10:23] friends of friends and people that knew [10:24] and people were sending him locations [10:26] and he went in and out and in and out of [10:29] the of southern Israel, risking his life [10:31] to rescue young people, mainly young [10:33] people from the Nova Festival site. And [10:36] uh you know a lot of people have spoken [10:38] about how they owe their life to him and [10:40] how he really you know was is a real [10:42] hero, a real war hero from from that [10:44] day. But you're right, since October [10:46] 7th, he's been critical of the [10:49] government's policies um towards uh Gaza [10:54] and he he spoke, you know, more about [10:56] the fact that the problem was never [10:58] dealt with under Netanyahu. the problem [11:02] with Gaza, with the Palestinians, was [11:04] never dealt with and it was allowed to [11:07] fester and grow and that's why um you [11:10] know things exploded on October 7th and [11:12] and that's another reason why he is so [11:15] much of an advocate for trying to find [11:18] some kind of uh solution to the problem [11:21] with the Palestinians or the Palestinian [11:23] issue. I just want to bring up, you [11:25] know, in terms of the criticism of the [11:28] war effort, there was a controversy he [11:30] found himself in. Um, that I think is [11:32] interesting. Um, you know, in May 2025, [11:35] he told the Israeli broadcaster K, [11:37] "Israel is on the way to becoming a [11:40] pariah state like South Africa was if we [11:42] don't return to acting like a sane [11:43] country. A sane country does not fight [11:46] against civilians, does not kill babies [11:47] as a hobby, and does not set itself the [11:50] aim of expelling populations. [11:53] People got really mad when he said that [11:55] and he did walk it back, you know, [11:57] basically terrified. He said he wasn't [12:00] accusing the IDF soldiers of [12:02] deliberately killing babies. What he [12:04] meant, he said, was that the Israeli [12:06] government was setting policy in a way [12:10] that that that was wrong. Um whether or [12:14] not people accepted that reframe from [12:16] him, I I don't know. No, I think listen [12:19] I these kind of comments in in this day [12:22] and age really stand out and people do [12:24] remember them. I mean they they spread [12:26] like wildfire on social media. People [12:28] make little video clips of them. The [12:30] government Netanyahu and his coalition [12:32] members use this to like really attack [12:35] him saying you know how could he use [12:37] like such language and and start a blood [12:40] liel they even said against Israeli [12:43] soldiers who are risking their lives in [12:44] Gaza. you know, it was very very taboo [12:47] what he said. It was very, you know, was [12:49] it was a big mistake probably on his [12:51] part and he definitely lost uh some [12:54] voters who would probably be interested [12:56] in voting for her democratim. But he, [12:59] you know, he did walk it back and he did [13:01] kind of explain that it wasn't an attack [13:04] on the soldiers and it was more of an [13:06] attack on, as I said, the government [13:07] policy and the policy of not dealing [13:10] with the problem that was was at hand. I [13:13] want to close by just circling back to [13:15] our talk at the beginning about how he [13:17] brought merits and labor together to [13:20] just share my a theory I have about this [13:23] which is basically if the anti- [13:26] Netanyahu [13:27] coalition wins in many ways it's going [13:31] to be because Ya Golan took a page right [13:34] out of the Netanyahu playbook and what I [13:36] mean by that is if you go back to the [13:38] 2022 election that brought Netanyahu [13:40] back to office you mention how merits [13:43] didn't cross the threshold and labor got [13:46] four seats. At the same time that was [13:49] happening, Netanyahu, [13:52] who had never really wanted to deal [13:54] intimately with the farright parties, [13:56] brought Betales and Itamar Beng together [14:02] to make sure that they propelled, [14:06] you know, over the threshold together [14:07] and got the maximum number of seats. And [14:10] so this time around basically Ya Golan's [14:14] doing the same thing on on the left and [14:16] making sure now instead of getting four [14:17] seats the the left combo of labor and [14:20] merits might get 10. And you know there [14:23] has been analysis I saw from the is [14:25] Israel Democracy Institute for example [14:27] that had merits and labor come together [14:31] in the last election [14:34] Netanyahu would not have been able to [14:36] get to 61 seats. So it was only their [14:38] failure to get together while Netanyahu [14:40] was on the top of his maneuvering game [14:43] to get Smootric and Bengir together that [14:46] you know propelled Netanyahu back into [14:48] office. So it's just interesting to see [14:50] you know to see Yer Golan who's the [14:53] anti- Netanyahu in many respects at [14:56] least on this one you know he's he's [14:58] taking a page right out of his playbook. [15:00] Well, you know, he I mean, I think this [15:02] is a a Israeli political tactic going [15:06] back as for as long as uh there's been a [15:08] Israeli parliament. Um because even [15:11] merits was an amalgamation of like I [15:13] think three parties um that were all [15:16] really small and didn't cross the [15:17] threshold. And so it's it's really like [15:20] a tactic but and I think it speaks more [15:22] about the fact you know the issue that [15:24] we spoke about a little bit uh in [15:26] yesterday's episode and that is the the [15:28] rise of the right wing and Israel moving [15:31] more right and instead of looking at it [15:33] as like okay there's two parties that [15:35] have come together and they're going to [15:36] actually get probably 10 seats it's sort [15:39] of like that's all that's left of the [15:41] left wing in Israel that is like they're [15:43] like the remnants of the left wing in [15:45] Israel. Uh, I mean, I do think they're [15:47] going to be uh one of the big surprises [15:49] of this election. I do think that um, [15:52] you know, like you said, they're going [15:53] to go from four seats that they had uh, [15:56] in the previous in the outgoing Knesset, [15:59] they're going to go to 10, which is like [16:00] a big jump. Even though it's still a [16:02] small portion, it's still quite a big [16:04] jump. So, we'll have to watch them on [16:07] election night and see how they do. [16:10] >> That's it for today. Um, thank you to [16:12] our producer, Maya Rackoff. Please make [16:14] sure to join us tomorrow for the next [16:16] episode of Waiting for 61. And don't [16:18] forget to send your questions in to [16:20] waiting for61 atjta.org.
