Yair Golan
Democrats chairman, former deputy army chief; elected to the Knesset
Yair Golan gets a D-
Score: 60 out of 100, the average of 6 measures. Graded on what Golan has said and done, because I count recorded votes only for the US Congress. Every line is below, with its source.
- D-TyrannyMostly with liberty, 6 sources
- CFree nationsMostly with liberty, 4 sources
- FFree speechAgainst liberty, 2 sources
- FEqual rightsAgainst liberty, 1 source
- AConscienceWith liberty, 1 source
- FDefenseBoth ways, 2 sources
- ?BordersNot clear either way, 1 source
Golan, on the record
17 things Golan has said and done. Each one has its source, and each is marked with the same test I use for votes in Congress. A line that doesn't settle the question is marked as not clear and counts for nothing.
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After the United States struck the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites he wrote that the operation was justified and that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, and called for an agreement to follow.
“The American operation last night against Iran's nuclear facilities is impressive, important, and justified”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Backing a strike on the regime's nuclear programme is military pressure on the regime.
-
Asked on Channel 12 about a possible strike on Iran, he said hitting its nuclear and other infrastructure hard might be the right thing to do, led by the Americans and followed by a diplomatic agreement.
“It may be that the right thing to do really is to act against Iranian targets and hit nuclear and other infrastructure hard, but even if that happens, the Americans will lead such a move and it must be followed by a diplomatic continuation.”
In Hebrew:
יכול להיות שהדבר הנכון באמת לעשות הוא לפעול מול מטרות איראניות, ולפגוע קשות בתשתיות גרעין ואחרות, אבל גם אם זה יקרה, האמריקנים יובילו מהלך כזה ואחריו חייבת להיות המשך מדיני
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Backing military action against the regime's nuclear programme is with liberty by this test.
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When Khamenei was killed at the start of the 2026 war he welcomed it, describing him as the architect of terrorism in the region.
“Ali Khamenei was the architect of regional terrorism, the man who made Israel's destruction a goal, financed and armed terrorist proxies and deepened instability across the Middle East”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Welcoming the removal of the regime's ruler, named as the backer of its armed proxies, backs confronting the regime.
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At a national security conference he said the 2026 war on the Islamic Republic was badly managed because it set replacing the regime as a goal, and he called for a deal stricter than the 2015 nuclear agreement with severe sanctions on Tehran's regional activity.
“From the outset, it set goals such as replacing the Iranian regime. That is extremely damaging to Israel, and in practice Iran improved its regional strategic standing as a result of the war.”
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
Rejecting the end of the regime as an aim, while it still rules by fear, leaves it in place; the stricter deal with sanctions he asked for in the same speech is the other half.
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Said on Channel 12's Meet the Press that he would press his partners in the opposition bloc to form a government with the Islamic party Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas.
“I will work with my partners to form a government with Ra'am”
In Hebrew:
אפעל אצל שותפיי להקים ממשלה עם רע"מ
- By the test I use for votes
- Not clear either way
Ra'am is a legal party in Israel's parliament. Governing with it, or trying to bar it from the ballot, is judged by what the government then does, not by the religion of a partner, so this line does not settle the test.
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At a public interview in Rishon LeZion he said the killing of Ali Khamenei had been a mistake, not because Khamenei did not deserve to die but because it did not serve Israel's interests.
“I unequivocally believe that killing the elder Khamenei was a mistake”
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
Calling the removal of the regime's ruler a mistake opposes confronting the regime at its head.
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As deputy economy minister, weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, he said Israel should take a side and declare itself for Ukraine and against the Russian aggression.
“Quite simply, to say we are for Ukraine, against the Russian aggression.”
In Hebrew:
פשוט מאוד, להגיד אנחנו בעד אוקראינה, נגד התוקפנות הרוסית.
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Calling for his country to side openly with Ukraine against Russia is with liberty by this test.
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On 7 October 2023, as a reserve general out of uniform, he drove in his own car to the area around the Nova festival and made several trips to bring people out.
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Going into the attack to rescue civilians is taking part in the country's defense.
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In a Kan radio interview about the Gaza war he said Israel was on the way to becoming a pariah state unless it returned to behaving like a sane country, and described what a sane country does not do; he refused to retract, saying his criticism was aimed at the government and not the army.
“a sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby and does not set goals of population expulsion”
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
Saying his own country kills babies as a hobby while it fights the group that attacked it speaks against that defense.
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In the same post he told Iranians they had been freed from a tyrant and that a chance for freedom had opened.
“you have been freed from a cruel tyrant who oppressed you for decades, and a real opportunity for freedom and a better future has opened”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Speaking up for the people of Iran against their rulers is standing with a people against its dictatorship.
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At an emergency meeting of the Knesset lobby for press freedom on the government's closure of Army Radio, he said he would fight to keep the station on air.
“This is a war. A war for freedom of the press, for the right to know, for the truth, for the very breath of democracy.”
In Hebrew:
זו מלחמה. מלחמה על חופש העיתונות, על הזכות לדעת, על האמת, על נשמת אפה של הדמוקרטיה.
- By the test I use for votes
- Not clear either way
Army Radio is the army's own station, so a fight over the government closing it is not about the state silencing citizens' speech, and the line does not settle the measure.
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Said in a Channel 13 interview that Channel 14 must either become what he called a media channel or be closed, repeating a pledge he first made in December 2025 to close it once in power.
“Channel 14 is a propaganda channel. Either it becomes a media channel or it will be closed.”
In Hebrew:
ערוץ 14 הוא ערוץ תעמולה. או שהוא יהפוך לערוץ תקשורת או שהוא ייסגר
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
A government closing a broadcaster over its content counts as against liberty, whoever the target is.
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Pledged at the same event to ensure at least 40 percent representation for women and to write gender equality into the Basic Laws.
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
A fixed minimum share by sex is a quota by sex, which this measure counts as against.
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Pledged that his party would promote civil marriage and cancel the law that widened the powers of the rabbinical courts.
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Civil marriage and rolling back the reach of religious courts are named with liberty by this test.
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In a recording from a May 2024 meeting with voters, he gave not doing reserve duty until the government is replaced as an example of civil disobedience; after it aired he said a call for refusal was being pinned on him.
“Civil disobedience is, for example, we do not do reserve duty. Until the government is replaced, we do not do reserve duty.”
In Hebrew:
אי ציות אזרחי זה למשל, אנחנו לא עושים מילואים. עד שהממשלה לא מתחלפת, אנחנו לא עושים מילואים
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
Proposing that reservists stay away from duty as political pressure goes against the reserve service the country depends on.
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After a recording resurfaced in which he said the army could not and would not want to draft all Haredi men at once, he wrote that service must apply to everyone.
“Service for everyone. Period”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Backing service for all, including the Haredi men now exempt, supports the conscription the army depends on.
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In the same interview he criticised the government's limits on admitting refugees from Ukraine and said Israel could open its gates, adding that this did not mean taking in millions or hundreds of thousands.
“Taking in 30 thousand people will not threaten the Jewish character of the State of Israel.”
In Hebrew:
לקלוט 30 אלף איש זה לא יאיים על הצביון היהודי של מדינת ישראל
- By the test I use for votes
- Not clear either way
Admitting a capped number of war refugees from Ukraine is not illegal entry or a mass amnesty, so the line does not settle the measure.
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